Highest Toxic Level Every Recorded in Alaskan Shellfish....One Shellfish can KILL Scores of People!

Toxic Alaskan mussels prompt warning from Northern Health

Posted on June 14th, 2011 by MuskegPress in Featured




After two men in Alaska were taken to a hospital in Ketchikan last week after coming down with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) due to eating tainted baby mussels, Northern Health sent out a notice to remind North Coast residents to take precautions when dealing with shellfish harvested in these waters.

According to a press release sent out by the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services last week, the mussels taken off a boat dock in Ketchikan had toxin levels estimated at over 30,000 micrograms per hundred grams of shellfish meat. Anything over 80 micrograms of toxin per hundred grams is considered toxic. It is apparently the highest level of toxin ever recorded.

“At these levels, a single mussel is enough to kill several people” said Kate Sullivan, with the University of Alaska Southwest, a member of the Alaska Harmful Algae Bloom Monitoring and Early Warning Program in the press release. Scientists have advised against anyone harvesting local shellfish in that area.

However, Dr. David Bowering, Northern Health’s northwest medical health officer, said the warning for the North Coast is strictly precautionary, as there have been no human cases of PSP in B.C., although there have been about 13 or so in Alaska.

Bowering said he sent the notice simply because levels are so high in Alaska and because this is the most dangerous time for shellfish harvesting. He said he does not know the exact numbers of toxins in our waters, but the conditions are roughly similar to the conditions in Alaskan waters, so if they are high in Alaska, they are probably high here.

Bowering said he also sent notices out to doctors and emergency rooms on the North Coast so they can keep an eye out for symptoms, such as tingling of the lips and tongue, tingling of fingers and toes, loss of control of arms and legs, and difficulty breathing.

A notice sent out by the Department of Fisheries & Oceans yesterday reminded North Coast residents that harvest prohibition for all bivalve shellfish is in place year-round for most areas on the North Coast due to PSP, red tide and other toxins. Harvesters are always urged to contact DFO before harvesting, to make sure the area they want to harvest in is open.

Bowering said Northern Health will probably ramp up testing of PSP if cases are spotted on this side of the border.

[link to news.blogs.cnn.com]