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Published On: Sat, May 11th, 2013

Mets southpaw, Pedro Feliciano, sickened with ciguatera

Left-handed pitcher, Pedro Feliciano was placed on the seven-day disabled list at Class A St. Lucie due to a lingering bout of food poisoning. Feliciano first got sick in late April and has officially been diagnosed with ciguatera, a form of fish food poisoning, according to a Chicago Tribune report Friday.

There are 400+ species of fish, including barracuda and grouper, implicated in ciguatera food poisoning, a food borne illness that’s relatively common in the Caribbean and parts of Florida.

Pedro Feliciano Image/Video Screen Shot

Pedro Feliciano
Image/Video Screen Shot

This toxin is the result of the accumulation of marine algae and the toxins they produce passing up the food chain. These marine algae hang on to dead coral and seaweed. They are then eaten by herbivore fish which are subsequently eaten by predatory reef fish which concentrates the toxin in its tissue. People get this food borne toxin from eating these contaminated larger fish. The reef fishes are more likely to get contaminated during storms and other turbulence.

After eating the affected fish (by the way the fish does not get sick from the toxin and actually tastes good) in as little as a couple of hours symptoms may appear. Gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhea, nausea and vomiting tend to appear early. Then a feeling of weakness and hypertension may occur in addition to complaints of intense itching.

Some mild to severe neurological symptoms are common with ciguatera; dizziness, impaired coordination, blurred vision and even coma may be seen in severe cases.

An unusual characteristic that is common in ciguatera is temperature reversal. This may be seen from 2 to 5 days after eating the fish. Hot objects seem cold and cold objects can give a shock-like sensation. There have been serious injuries because a person was unable to recognize extremely hot sensations. Other odd symptoms are food may taste metallic and teeth may seem painful or loose.

The gastrointestinal symptoms usually resolve in a couple days; however neurological symptoms may last for months or years. Symptoms may come back after ingesting certain foods and drinks; alcohol, caffeine, nuts and fish.

There are no laboratory tests to diagnose this disease and it’s based on clinical symptoms and a history of eating an offending fish. Some studies have shown that IV mannitol is effective in providing relief and recovery if taken within the first 72 hours of intoxication. Other than that most treatment is for symptoms.

So how can you prevent getting this potentially serious toxin? Prevention can be difficult since the toxin in the fish cannot be killed by cooking and there is no offensive odor or appearance to the fish. So the only way to truly prevent this intoxication is to avoid eating large reef fish or getting your fish through a reputable supplier.

In January,  the 36-year-old Feliciano signed a minor league deal with the Mets, making it his third stint with the ballclub.

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About the Author

- Writer, Co-Founder and Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch. Robert has been covering news in the areas of health, world news and politics for a variety of online news sources. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the website, Outbreak News Today and hosts the podcast, Outbreak News Interviews on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify Robert is politically Independent and a born again Christian Follow @bactiman63

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  1. Tardy Tuesday: Players Who Should Retire says:

    […] Feliciano: We saw a blurb about his rehab stint with A-level St. Lucie where he was put on the DL with food-poisoning after eating some bad fish. Come on, Petey, we’ve all eaten some bad fish in our day. [Ahem]. […]

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