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Scombrotoxin

Scombroid food poisoning
Histamine 3D ball.png
Histamine
Classification and external resources
Specialty emergency medicine
ICD-10 T61.1
ICD-9-CM 988.0
DiseasesDB 31114
eMedicine emerg/523
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Scombroid food poisoning is a foodborne illness that results from eating spoiled (decayed) fish. Along with ciguatera, it is listed as a common type of seafood poisoning. The toxin believed to be responsible is histamine, formed as the flesh of the fish begins to decay. As histamine is also the natural agent involved in allergic reactions, scombroid food poisoning often gets misidentified as a food allergy.

The syndrome is named after Scombridae family of fish, which includes mackerels, tunas and bonitos, because early descriptions of the illness noted an association with those species; however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified other, nonscombroid vectors, such as mahi-mahi and amberjack. Scombroid syndrome can result from inappropriate handling of fish during storage or processing. Cooking the food does not prevent illness, because histamine is not destroyed at normal cooking temperatures.

Unlike many types of food poisoning, scombroid form is not brought about by ingestion of a pathogen.Histidine is an amino acid that exists naturally in many types of food (including fish) and at temperatures above 16 °C/60 °F it is converted to the biogenic amine histamine via the enzyme histidine decarboxylase produced by symbiotic bacteria such as Morganella morganii (this is one reason why fish should be stored in the freezer). Histamine is not destroyed by normal cooking temperatures, so even properly cooked fish can still result in poisoning. Histamine is the main natural chemical responsible for true allergic reactions, so the symptoms produced are almost identical to a food allergy.


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