Abstract

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), the most frequent marine food intoxications reported in the world, is the cause of major health and economic problems in communities whose nutrition depends heavily on seafood resources. With a mean annual incidence of 2-4 cases per thousand population, French Polynesia has long been regarded as a hot spot of CFP¨. The impetus for extensive researches initiated at the Institut Louis Malardé since the late 60's has lead to important advances in our understanding of local CFP events. Practical applications of this research effort are now effective through the implementation of large scale-risk assessment programmes for the benefit of island populations, as illustrated by the campaigns recently conducted in two CFP-endemic islands of French Polynesia : Raivavae (Australes) and Fakarava (Tuamotu). On the spot, our objectives were to list and characterize the aetiology of poisoning incidents resulting from seafood consumption, assess the abundance and geographic distribution of the causative micro-organisms (e.g. the dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus), assess the toxicity in contaminated seafood from various fishing areas, and ensure local information. Among the most significant benefits of these studies are : the reactivation of the marine food poisoning reporting program in collaboration with the medical structures of the Public Health directorate of French Polynesia; evidence for a new source of CFP-related toxins, namely marine benthic cyanobacteria; and their subsequent transfer to invertebrate (giant clams); the linkage between the history of environmental aggressions, either natural or anthropogenic, undergone by the lagoons of these 2 islands and CFP occurrence; the increased awareness by locals of seafood resources, species and fishing areas with high CFP risk, and recommendations of the prevention of CFP at an individual level and with local authorities.