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Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin.Its name derives from Tetraodontiformes, an order that includes pufferfish, porcupinefish, ocean sunfish, and triggerfish; several of these species carry the toxin.
The standard treatment is to support the respiratory and circulatory systems until the poison is metabolized and excreted by the victim's body. [9] Researchers have determined that a fugu's tetrodotoxin comes from eating other animals infested with tetrodotoxin-laden bacteria, to which the fish develops insensitivity over time. [10]
Hallmark symptoms of ciguatera in humans include gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and neurological effects. [5] [6] Gastrointestinal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, usually followed by neurological symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness of extremities, mouth and lips, reversal of hot and cold sensation, [7] [8] ataxia, vertigo, and hallucinations.
Vibrio alginolyticus is a Gram-negative marine bacterium. [1] [2] It is medically important since it causes otitis and wound infection. [1]It is also present in the bodies of animals such as pufferfish, where it is responsible for the production of the potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin.
Researchers from the Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan have found eating small fish whole may reduce all-cause and cancer mortality risk in Japanese women.
Pufferfish that are born and grown in captivity do not produce tetrodotoxin until they receive some of the poison-producing bacteria, often by eating tissues from a toxin-producing fish. Also, some fish are more poisonous than others. Each fish has enough poison to kill around thirty adult humans. [citation needed]
Some species are poisonous, having tetrodotoxin in their internal organs, such as the ovaries and liver. This neurotoxin is at least 1,200 times more potent than cyanide . The poison is produced by several types of bacteria obtained from the fish's diet. [ 11 ]
Many species of pufferfish bear this toxin, obtaining it from tetrodotoxin-containing bacteria in their diet. [32] Eating the fish can have fatal consequences. The symptoms of poisoning, which are predominantly neurological, include ataxia , in addition to numbness and/or paraesthesia (tingling) around the mouth, lips, and limb extremities. [ 31 ]