142 - Marine Food-Borne Poisoning, Envenomation, and Traumatic Injuries

Poisoning from the ingestion of marine animals such as shellfish and fish constitutes a small but consistent source of food poisoning outbreaks and illnesses. Although mortality is low, morbidity can be significant, with many patients needing to seek medical care. Tetrodotoxin poisoning is an exception, and significant mortality has been reported. Even though the vast majority of marine sea life is harmless to humans, a small but important percentage does cause human envenomation with resulting morbidity and mortality. It is difficult to quantify the annual number of marine envenomations because most victims will not seek medical care and reporting cases to health departments or poison centers is not mandatory. Some estimate the number of marine envenomations worldwide to be greater than 10 million per year, with the majority being caused by jellyfish. Deaths are reported every year from envenomation by certain species of jellyfish, most commonly the box jellyfish. The true number of traumatic injuries caused by marine life is difficult to estimate. Most will consist of only minor abrasions and contusions, but occasional fatal traumatic injuries do occur. Attacks by sharks and large predatory fish cause human fatalities every year. Stingray barbs can cause significant direct trauma and death.