Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P018947/1
Lessons for the future: Qualifying and quantifying South Asia's first widespread ciguatera poisoning outbreak
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr L Turner, University of Plymouth, Sch of Biological and Marine Sciences
- Grant held at:
- University of Plymouth, Sch of Biological and Marine Sciences
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Panel B
- ENRIs:
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- Ecosystem impacts
- Human health impacts
- Climate & Climate Change
- Climate change in LICs
- Fisheries in LICs
- Food security, food supply
- Natural hazards
- Nat Resources, Env & Rural Dev
- Biodiversity
- Evolutionary ecology
- Genetic diversity
- Marine populations
- Population dynamics
- Population structure
- Population Ecology
- Public health
- Diet & health
- Toxicity
- Algal blooms
- Environment & Health
- Abstract:
- South Asia has long had a fish eating tradition as well as a growing domestic and export fishing industry. However, recently there have been sporadic reports of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) from this region. This is a circumtropical disease transmitted by eating carnivorous fishes that contain toxins accumulated from their food and is characterised by gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms which may result in disablement and/or death. Despite the known presence of the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus spp., one of the most common causative agents of CFP, in the region (Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea) there has been no previously recorded large-scale CFP incident in this area until now. On 1st October 2016 South Asia's first widespread CFP outbreak occurred in the city of Mangalore, Karnataka, on the coast of SW India, resulting in several hundred hospital attendances and admissions. This is believed to be as a result of the consumption of locally caught carnivorous fish, such as the red snapper, Lutjanus bohar, contaminated with ciguatera toxins. These fish were originally intended for a fish processing plant in the city but were also sold at the Mangalore fish market. This recent outbreak presents a unique opportunity to qualify and quantify the presence of the causative algal species, whilst at the same time conduct state-of-the-art toxin analysis of contaminated seafood samples in a region of the world currently underrepresented both in terms of sampling coverage and technological analysis of an algal-born toxin outbreak event. Increased seawater temperatures and lowered salinity are known to favour the regional dinoflagellate community in general, and specifically Gambierdiscus spp. The previous 12 months have seen sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean consistently 0.5-1.0 degrees C above average coinciding with the ongoing El Ni?o Southern Oscillation and this season's monsoon has been particularly sustained, lowering coastal salinity. Data gathered during the proposed study will allow us to make predictions for the occurrence of further outbreaks of CFP along the South Asian coastline and elsewhere, including in the face of global climate change. Our aim to implement a rapid response screening and management programme in response to future CFP events will help to ensure the health and wellbeing of those who depend on fishing as a protein and/or economic resource.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P018947/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grant FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Urgent Grant
This grant award has a total value of £52,195
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £39,033 | £3,177 | £3,939 | £804 | £5,243 |
If you need further help, please read the user guide.