Brevetoxin is a shellfish toxin that causes Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP). Which toxin is responsible for NSP?

Brevetoxin is a shellfish toxin that causes Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP). Which toxin is responsible for NSP?

• A. Ciguatoxin
• B. Brevetoxin
• C. Domoic acid
• D. Okadaic acid

Answer: (B)

Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning is caused by brevetoxins produced by the red tide alga Karenia brevis, which accumulate in filter-feeding shellfish. Brevetoxins disrupt nerve signaling by keeping voltage-gated sodium channels open, leading to numbness, tingling, a reversal of hot and cold sensations, dizziness, and nausea after eating contaminated shellfish. These toxins are heat-stable, so cooking does not destroy them. Other shellfish poisonings come from different toxins—ciguatoxin causes Ciguatera, domoic acid causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, and okadaic acid causes Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning—each with distinct sources and symptom patterns.

Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning is caused by brevetoxins produced by the red tide alga Karenia brevis, which accumulate in filter-feeding shellfish. Brevetoxins disrupt nerve signaling by keeping voltage-gated sodium channels open, leading to numbness, tingling, a reversal of hot and cold sensations, dizziness, and nausea after eating contaminated shellfish. These toxins are heat-stable, so cooking does not destroy them. Other shellfish poisonings come from different toxins—ciguatoxin causes Ciguatera, domoic acid causes Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, and okadaic acid causes Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning—each with distinct sources and symptom patterns.