illnesses, usually, allergic reactions, are relatively common after eating seafood, however there are a range of other differentials that should be onsidered.
Symptoms can appear ten to 30 minutes after ingestion, and include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, tingling or burning lips, gums, tongue, face, neck, arms, legs, and toes
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning
onset of severe diarrhoea within 30 minutes of eating (but may start at up to 36hrs) and lasts about 1 day
causative poison is okadaic acid
Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
caused by the consumption of brevetoxins, which are marine toxins produced by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis (among several others) which is common in Florida and Texas as the “Florida red tide”
symptoms begin 3-4 hours after consumption, but can begin anywhere from several minutes to 18 hours afterward
V&D and then neurologic symptoms including “nerves being on fire” or “ants crawling and biting all over” and ataxia
Amnesic shellfish poisoning
consumption of shellfish that contain the marine biotoxin called domoic acid, a neurotoxin primarily affecting the hippocampus and amygdaloid nucleus, and which can cause permanent short-term memory loss, brain damage, and death in severe cases, esp. if risk factors such as old age and renal failure.
V&D may commence after 24hrs
In more severe cases, neurological symptoms can take several hours or up to 3 days to develop
outbreaks have mainly been in Canada whilst seabird and marine deaths have occurred off the coast of California