Identification of ciguatoxins in a shark involved in a fatal food poisoning in the Indian Ocean.

Severe food poisoning events after the consumption of sharks have been reported since the 1940s; however, there has been no clear understanding of their cause. Herein, we report for the first time the presence of ciguatoxins (CTXs) in sharks. The identification by mass spectrometry of CTXs, including two new analogues, in a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) that was consumed by humans, causing the poisoning and death of 11 people in Madagascar in 2013 is described.