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Marine tetrodotoxin as a risk for human health
2019
Madejska, Anna | Michalski, Mirosław | Osek, Jacek
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a toxin mainly occurring naturally in contaminated puffer fish, which are a culinary delicacy in Japan. It is also detected in various marine organisms like globefish, starfish, sunfish, stars, frogs, crabs, snails, Australian blue-ringed octopuses, and bivalve molluscs. TTX is produced by marine bacteria that are consumed mainly by fish of the Tetraodontidae family and other aquatic animals. TTX poisoning through consuming marine snails has recently begun to occur over a wider geographical extent through Taiwan, China, and Europe. This neurotoxin causes food intoxication and poses an acute risk to public health. The aim of this review is to present the most recent information about TTX and its analogues with particular regard to toxicity, methods of analysis, and risk to humans of exposure.
Show more [+] Less [-]Current status of porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) in European pigs
2019
Porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) is a highly contagious and devastating enteric disease of pigs caused by porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus (PEDV), an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the Alphacoronavirus genus of the Coronaviridae family. The disease is clinically similar to other forms of porcine gastroenteritis. Pigs are the only known host of the disease, and the occurrence of PED in wild boars is unknown. The virus causes acute diarrhoea, vomiting, dehydration, and high mortality in suckling piglets reaching 100%. Heavy economic losses in the pig-farming industry were sustained in the USA between 2013 and 2015 when PEDV spread very quickly and resulted in epidemics. The loss in the US pig industry has been estimated at almost seven million pigs. The purpose of this review is a description of the current status of porcine epidemic diarrhoea in European pigs and the risk presented by the introduction of PEDV to Poland in comparison to the epidemics in the USA.
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