Poisonings: food, fish, shellfish

Not every traveler who gets sick away from home has an infection; some are poisoned. This article describes common and dangerous illnesses caused by food-borne toxins. It explores the toxic illnesses acquired from fish or seafood, including scombroid, ciguatera, pufferfish toxicity, and a variety of shellfish poisonings. It also provides a brief overview of plant toxicity. Although gastroenteritis is a common feature of many food poisonings, this article emphasizes those processes associated with neurologic manifestations, as they tend to be more dangerous to patients and less well understood by physicians. It also stresses strategies to prevent food poisoning.