ABSTRACT
The term ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) was first used in the Caribbean to describe an intoxication induced by the ingestion of a marine snail, Turbo pica (called cigua by the Cuban natives), involved in food poisoning outbreaks during the Spanish Conquest (1). Now the word is used to describe the intoxication caused by consumption of certain fish, primarily reef fish from the tropical and subtropical areas of the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, which have accumulated specific toxins via their diet.
