Respiratory impairment in four patients associated with exposure to palytoxin containing coral

Ostreospis cf. ovata blooms in coastal water: Italian guidelines to assess and manage the risk associated to bathing waters and recreational activities

“…Similar and even stronger effects on the respiratory tract lasting up to 1-3 months, accompanied by increased blood levels of CPK and other systemic effects, were also reported as the result of inhaling hot water vapours during cleaning procedures of soft corals (genus Palythoa) contained in aquaria (Sud et al, 2013;Wieringa et al, 2014). Levels of PLTX equivalent up to 600 mg/g of wet zoanthids or coral were found, but information on the level of exposure by inhalation were not available.…”

Dangerous reef aquaristics: Palytoxin of a brown encrusting anemone causes toxic corneal reactions

“…With some of the toxin-producing species that can be found in a seawater aquariums, it is astonishing there have not been more cases of medically relevant contact. The literature shows a variety of cases in which owners were exposed to PTX generated by soft corals (Hoffmann, Hermanns-Clausen et al 2008;Reimer 2009;Wu 2009;Deeds and Schwartz 2010;Moshirfar, Khalifa et al 2010;Nordt, Wu et al 2011;Tubaro, Durando et al 2011;Bernasconi, Berger et al 2012;Wieringa, Bertholee et al 2014;Cortini 2015). PTX destroys the ionic gradient of cells by changing their membrane Na/K-ATPase pumps into non-selective cationic pores (Habermann 1989;Artigas and Gadsby 2003;Moshirfar, Khalifa et al 2010).…”

“…exact in vivo toxicity mechanism is not fully understood (Wieringa, Bertholee et al 2014;Berni, Bellocci et al 2015). Initial mammal studies (Wiles, Vick et al 1974;Cortini 2015) showed a high mortality rate due to PTX ingestion and injection as well as a wide range of morbidity due to ocular, dermal and inhalational exposure.…”

“…PTX is very potent; hence, minimal amounts are sufficient to cause medically relevant intoxication or damage. Several reports describe oral, dermal and inhalational intoxication after suspected PTX exposure, sometimes with systemic symptoms (Habermann 1989;Artigas and Gadsby 2003;Wieringa, Bertholee et al 2014;Cortini 2015). To our knowledge, only one report with two cases has been published regarding accidental ocular PTX contact in humans (Moshirfar, Khalifa et al 2010).…”

Effects of temperature, salinity and their interaction on growth of benthic dinoflagellates Ostreopsis spp. from Thailand

“…Laboratory experiments have found the content of palytoxin (PTX) analogs in cultures of Ostreopsis spp. (Ciminiello et al, 2006(Ciminiello et al, , 2013Suzuki et al, 2012), and blooms of toxic Ostreopsis may be responsible for human health problems (Wieringa et al, 2014;Ciminiello et al, 2014). In Italy, aerosols containing PTX analogs occurred along the coastline of Genoa during a period of a massive bloom of Ostreopsis ovata in 2005 and caused serious respiratory distress and skin irritation in people around the region through inhaling the aerosols (Ciminiello et al, 2006).…”