CIGUATERA IN REUNION ISLAND (SW INDIAN-OCEAN) - EPIDEMIOLOGY AND CLINICAL-PATTERNS

One hundred and fifty-nine ichtyosarcotoxic outbreaks, including 477 p eople, were recorded in the island of Reunion (SW Indian ocean) betwee n 1986 and 1994. Ciguatera outbreaks represented 78.6% of the total ca ses and its annual incidence rate was estimated to be 0.78/10,000 resi dents. Symptoms caused by ciguatera poisoning are not different from t hose reported in Pacific and Caribbean islands, except for the additio nal symptoms of hallucinatory poisoning in 16% of the patients. Serran idae fish, including species of great commercial value, were the most commonly incriminated, accounting for 50% of the outbreaks. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd