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Glite Dictionary
ciguatera

ciguatera

1 9.9
Food poisoning from eating tropical reef fish that contain toxins from tiny sea organisms
  • noun
  • /ˌsɪɡəˈwɛtəˌrə/
  • Specialized
: ciguatera
  • The symptoms of ciguatera poisoning can last for weeks and include nausea and muscle pain.
  • ciguatera poisoning

Examples

  • Many people in Pacific island communities have to be cautious about ciguatera, especially after consuming reef fish.

  • Ciguatera fish poisoning is now a public health and economic problem on many Pacific islands where people depend on fish for food and income.

    Academic text (1990)

  • There are also demonstrated positive correlations between temperature increases and diarrhea and between warmer sea-surface temperatures and ciguatera poisoning, an illness caused by toxic fish consumption.

    Academic text (2005)

  • If you eat fish from certain tropical areas, you could risk ciguatera poisoning which is caused by toxins in the fish.

Synonyms

food poisoning
vsciguatera
45 2.7

An illness from eating food with harmful germs

is a specific illness from tropical reef fish toxins rather than general contamination

Surface Forms

ciguatera singular
ciguateras plural

Etymology

Ciguatera probably comes from a Spanish form cigua, a local Caribbean word for a 'small sea creature' that people linked to sickness when eaten. So, ciguatera refers to the food poisoning you get from eating tropical reef fish that carry the toxin.