Marine Dinoflagellate-Associated Human Poisoning 33.2 Historical Perspective 791
Part F | 33.3
33.2 Historical Perspective
Dinoflagellates have been found in the fossil records
for millions of years. As early as 77 A.D. the Greek
naturalist, Pliny, in a book of notes on his observations wrote, There are sudden fires in the waters, most
likely referring to what we now recognize as dinoflagellate bioluminescence [33.12]. In 1753, the first modern
dinoflagellates were described by Henry Baker as Animalcules which cause the sparkling light in sea water,
and named by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1773. In 1773
O.F. Muller became the first man to use the newly invented microscope on a dinoflagellate. In the 1830s, the
German microscopist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg examined many water and plankton samples and proposed
several dinoflagellate genera that are still used today,
including Peridinium, Prorocentrum, and Dinophysis.
Dinoflagellates remained mysterious until F. Stein published his dinoflagellate monographs in 1878–1883.
To this day, many genera carry the name originally
coined by Stein in his famous monographs. In the last
10 years, the lists of identified dinoflagellates have
exploded. The number of identified species has doubled – and our understanding of the vital roles that
they play has exploded with it. Harmful algal blooms
are not new phenomena; there are written references
dating back to biblical times. These blooms have been
recorded since the Spanish explorations in the late sixteenth century. The term red tide is now part of common
language and is associated with Gymnodinium breve
blooms that have occurred along Florida’s western shelf
since the 1950s. There have been restrictions on the
consumption of shellfish in North America by European settlers and Red Indians [33.13]. It has been 40
years since the first recorded toxic bloom of Pyrodinium
bahamense occurred in Papua New Guinea in 1972.
Subsequently, this species has increased in importance
as a paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin (PSTs) producer
in several regions of the world, especially in the IndoWest Pacific [33.14].
Poisoning caused by the ingestion of toxincontaining seafood has been part of mankind’s existence and concern for centuries. Ciguatera poisoning
has been known since the sixteenth century and appears
to be the most commonly occurring risk associated with
seafood [33.15]. The recorded outbreaks of ciguatera,
both in the New Hebrides aboard the vessel of the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandez de Queiros in 1606
and in 1774 aboard Captain Cook’s Resolution, were
probably two of the earliest vivid accounts of the illness. In 1866 in Cuba, Mr. Poey reported intoxication
due to the consumption of a gastropod (Livona pica),
which was known locally as cigua. This way the name
ciguatera was introduced. While the name has its origin in the West Indies, the phenomenon was observed
and recorded in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as early
as the sixteenth century. Gambierdiscus toxicus, a dinoflagellate, was discovered in the Gambier Islands
(French Polynesia) during an epidemic of ciguatera in
1976. There were many proposed theories on the occurrence of poisonous shellfish during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries [33.16]. Illness related to tainted
shellfish was documented in 1880 with dead birds and
killed fish in Tampa [33.17].
Intoxication after consumption of shellfish is a syndrome that has been known for centuries, the most
common being the PSP. It is caused by a group of
toxins, saxitoxins (STXs) and derivates, produced by
dinoflagellates of the genera Alexandrium, Gymnodium,
and Pyrodinium. First reports of PSP intoxication dates
back to 1920 in California, USA when at least six people were reported to have died from it [33.18].
Until the 1970s, PSP toxins had only been detected
in European, North American, and Japanese waters.
Walker was the first to record NSP in 1880 on the
West Coast of Florida. It was not until the 1950s that
the relationship between red tide events and NSP was
better understood and researched [33.19, 20]. The first
documented human intoxication caused by DSP toxins was in The Netherlands in 1961 [33.21]. DSP is
a relatively recent and new type of shellfish poisoning,
which was first discovered in Japan [33.22]. In 1995,
the first intoxication due to AZP was reported when
at least eight people got ill in The Netherlands after
consumption of mussels imported from Ireland. AZP
was first reported in The Netherlands but later spread
in Europe [33.23]. It is a newly identified marine toxin
disease. The first recorded observation on algal blooms
in Indian waters was by Hornell in 1908 [33.24]. The
first record of PSP was made in 1981 from the coastal
areas of Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra in India [33.25]. In 1981, PSP resulted in the death of 3
persons and the hospitalization of 85 people due to consumption of affected mussel Meretrix casta in Tamil
Nadu [33.26]. Until now, the understanding of the ecology and oceanography of these species, and how they
affect other organisms, including people, continues to
be a challenge for researchers.
Part F | 33.3
33.2 Historical Perspective
Dinoflagellates have been found in the fossil records
for millions of years. As early as 77 A.D. the Greek
naturalist, Pliny, in a book of notes on his observations wrote, There are sudden fires in the waters, most
likely referring to what we now recognize as dinoflagellate bioluminescence [33.12]. In 1753, the first modern
dinoflagellates were described by Henry Baker as Animalcules which cause the sparkling light in sea water,
and named by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1773. In 1773
O.F. Muller became the first man to use the newly invented microscope on a dinoflagellate. In the 1830s, the
German microscopist Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg examined many water and plankton samples and proposed
several dinoflagellate genera that are still used today,
including Peridinium, Prorocentrum, and Dinophysis.
Dinoflagellates remained mysterious until F. Stein published his dinoflagellate monographs in 1878–1883.
To this day, many genera carry the name originally
coined by Stein in his famous monographs. In the last
10 years, the lists of identified dinoflagellates have
exploded. The number of identified species has doubled – and our understanding of the vital roles that
they play has exploded with it. Harmful algal blooms
are not new phenomena; there are written references
dating back to biblical times. These blooms have been
recorded since the Spanish explorations in the late sixteenth century. The term red tide is now part of common
language and is associated with Gymnodinium breve
blooms that have occurred along Florida’s western shelf
since the 1950s. There have been restrictions on the
consumption of shellfish in North America by European settlers and Red Indians [33.13]. It has been 40
years since the first recorded toxic bloom of Pyrodinium
bahamense occurred in Papua New Guinea in 1972.
Subsequently, this species has increased in importance
as a paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin (PSTs) producer
in several regions of the world, especially in the IndoWest Pacific [33.14].
Poisoning caused by the ingestion of toxincontaining seafood has been part of mankind’s existence and concern for centuries. Ciguatera poisoning
has been known since the sixteenth century and appears
to be the most commonly occurring risk associated with
seafood [33.15]. The recorded outbreaks of ciguatera,
both in the New Hebrides aboard the vessel of the Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernandez de Queiros in 1606
and in 1774 aboard Captain Cook’s Resolution, were
probably two of the earliest vivid accounts of the illness. In 1866 in Cuba, Mr. Poey reported intoxication
due to the consumption of a gastropod (Livona pica),
which was known locally as cigua. This way the name
ciguatera was introduced. While the name has its origin in the West Indies, the phenomenon was observed
and recorded in the Indian and Pacific Oceans as early
as the sixteenth century. Gambierdiscus toxicus, a dinoflagellate, was discovered in the Gambier Islands
(French Polynesia) during an epidemic of ciguatera in
1976. There were many proposed theories on the occurrence of poisonous shellfish during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries [33.16]. Illness related to tainted
shellfish was documented in 1880 with dead birds and
killed fish in Tampa [33.17].
Intoxication after consumption of shellfish is a syndrome that has been known for centuries, the most
common being the PSP. It is caused by a group of
toxins, saxitoxins (STXs) and derivates, produced by
dinoflagellates of the genera Alexandrium, Gymnodium,
and Pyrodinium. First reports of PSP intoxication dates
back to 1920 in California, USA when at least six people were reported to have died from it [33.18].
Until the 1970s, PSP toxins had only been detected
in European, North American, and Japanese waters.
Walker was the first to record NSP in 1880 on the
West Coast of Florida. It was not until the 1950s that
the relationship between red tide events and NSP was
better understood and researched [33.19, 20]. The first
documented human intoxication caused by DSP toxins was in The Netherlands in 1961 [33.21]. DSP is
a relatively recent and new type of shellfish poisoning,
which was first discovered in Japan [33.22]. In 1995,
the first intoxication due to AZP was reported when
at least eight people got ill in The Netherlands after
consumption of mussels imported from Ireland. AZP
was first reported in The Netherlands but later spread
in Europe [33.23]. It is a newly identified marine toxin
disease. The first recorded observation on algal blooms
in Indian waters was by Hornell in 1908 [33.24]. The
first record of PSP was made in 1981 from the coastal
areas of Tamilnadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra in India [33.25]. In 1981, PSP resulted in the death of 3
persons and the hospitalization of 85 people due to consumption of affected mussel Meretrix casta in Tamil
Nadu [33.26]. Until now, the understanding of the ecology and oceanography of these species, and how they
affect other organisms, including people, continues to
be a challenge for researchers.