Pfiesteria

What is Pfiesteria, and where is it found?
Pfiesteria (fee-STEER-ee-uh) is a microscopic aquatic organism that might produce chemicals called toxins that injure or kill fish. However, these toxins have never been definitively identified. Also, some scientists believe that Pfiesteria can sometimes cause temporary health problems in people who breathe in the toxins or get them on their skin.

Pfiesteria has been blamed for fish kills on the Eastern coast from Delaware to North Carolina. It has only been a problem in the warmer months, usually between April and October, and only in areas where salt waters and fresh waters mix, such as estuaries, sounds, and rivers near the coast. Pfiesteria is not known to be a problem in inland streams, rivers or lakes, or in open ocean waters. Since Hurricane Floyd struck in 1999, Pfiesteria has not been reported as a cause of fish kills in North Carolina.

Does Pfiesteria affect people?
There is no consistent evidence that exposure to Pfiesteria or its toxins have been associated with any adverse human health effects. It has been theorized that, if and when Pfiesteria produces toxins, the toxins may mix with the water and possibly the air, and people may then be at risk if the toxins are inhaled or absorbed through their skin. Some researchers have reported that exposure to Pfiesteria has caused headaches, dizziness, a burning sensation on the skin or eyes, skin lesions or sores, nausea, intestinal distress, and short-term memory loss in some people. However, such human health effects have not been substantiated by other researchers. In addition, other possible causes were not adequately excluded as the cause of the observed symptoms in the situations in which Pfiesteria was blamed for human illness.

There is no evidence that people have gotten ill from eating fish or shellfish exposed to Pfiesteria.

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Page last updated on December 12, 2006