Identification of Fish Species and Toxins Implicated in a Snapper Food Poisoning Event in Sabah, Malaysia, 2017
Ha Viet Dao,
Aya Uesugi,
Hajime Uchida,
Ryuichi Watanabe,
Ryoji Matsushima,
Zhen Fei Lim,
Steffiana J. Jipanin,
Ky Xuan Pham,
Minh-Thu Phan,
Chui Pin Leaw,
Po Teen Lim,
Toshiyuki Suzuki
Affiliations
Ha Viet Dao
Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 01 Cau Da, Nha Trang 650000, Vietnam
Aya Uesugi
Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
Hajime Uchida
Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
Ryuichi Watanabe
Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
Ryoji Matsushima
Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
Zhen Fei Lim
Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Bachok 16310, Kelantan, Malaysia
Steffiana J. Jipanin
Likas Fisheries Complex, Department of Fisheries Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Sabah, Malaysia
Ky Xuan Pham
Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 01 Cau Da, Nha Trang 650000, Vietnam
Minh-Thu Phan
Institute of Oceanography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, 01 Cau Da, Nha Trang 650000, Vietnam
Chui Pin Leaw
Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Bachok 16310, Kelantan, Malaysia
Po Teen Lim
Bachok Marine Research Station, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, Bachok 16310, Kelantan, Malaysia
Toshiyuki Suzuki
Environment and Fisheries Applied Techniques Research Department, Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-12-4 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
In the coastal countries of Southeast Asia, fish is a staple diet and certain fish species are food delicacies to local populations or commercially important to individual communities. Although there have been several suspected cases of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in Southeast Asian countries, few have been confirmed by ciguatoxins identification, resulting in limited information for the correct diagnosis of this food-borne disease. In the present study, ciguatoxin-1B (CTX-1B) in red snapper (Lutjanus bohar) implicated in a CFP case in Sabah, Malaysia, in December 2017 was determined by single-quadrupole selected ion monitoring (SIM) liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). Continuous consumption of the toxic fish likely resulted in CFP, even when the toxin concentration in the fish consumed was low. The identification of the fish species was performed using the molecular characterization of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene marker, with a phylogenetic analysis of the genus Lutjanus. This is the first report identifying the causative toxin in fish-implicated CFP in Malaysia.
