A ciguatera outbreak has so far affected at least ten people in Lanzarote, as confirmed to La Voz by Public Health of the Canary Islands Government. This department had not yet made this situation public, but one of those affected has contacted this medium to denounce what happened and warn other people who may be affected.
According to this affected person, and confirmed to La Voz by Public Health, the problem originated in a fish shop in San Bartolomé, specifically with a grouper. Hours after this news was published in La Voz, the Canarian Government sent a statement stating that the investigation they opened after learning about these cases "has allowed to locate the fish purchased in an establishment in this town of Lanzarote." The press release comes three days after the first case was diagnosed, last Monday the 9th.
Usually, ciguatera is associated with sport or illegal fishing, which does not pass the relevant controls. However, as confirmed by Public Health, it is not usual for this to happen with products purchased in a fish shop.
Most of the ciguatera outbreaks previously registered on the island (the last known ones occurred in 2012), originated in restaurants. "This is usually done by illegal fishermen who, since they do not live from the sale of fish, sell it cheaper and restaurants buy it, even risking what has happened," they told La Voz from the San Ginés Fishermen's Association.
A dangerous toxin
Ciguatera is a type of food poisoning caused by eating fish that contain ciguatoxin. The chain begins with small herbivorous fish that consume a toxic algae. These fish are then food for larger fish, which are the ones that pose the greatest danger. The largest, oldest fish are the most toxic because they accumulate more toxin.
Precisely for that reason, the commercialization and sale of fish is prohibited, without the corresponding sanitary control and labeling, with weights greater than 15 kilograms in the case of amberjack; 30 kilograms in the case of wahoo, 12 kilograms in the case of Pejerrey; 12 kilograms in the case of pollock, 29 kilograms of grouper; 10 kilograms of sierra; and 150 kilograms of marlin and swordfish.
The great danger of this toxin is that it does not alter the taste of the fish, and it is not eliminated by cooking or freezing. As for the symptoms, they appear from one to several hours after ingestion and the characteristic picture lasts about eight days, although there are also more serious cases in which they last for weeks or even months.
Those affected suffer stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting; headache, muscle pain, and joint pain; generalized itching; inversion of the sensations of heat and cold; pain in the face; sensation of tooth loss; tingling or burning of extremities: among other aspects, which can be repeated for months after intoxication.
In the case of the new outbreak registered in Lanzarote, none of those affected has needed hospital admission.
