Epidemiology and Toxicology of Ciguatera Poisoning in the Colombian Caribbean.

Ciguatera is a food intoxication caused by the consumption of primarily coral fish; these species exist in large numbers in the seas that surround the Colombian territory. The underreported diagnosis of this clinical entity has been widely highlighted due to multiple factors, such as, among others, ignorance by the primary care practitioner consulted for this condition as well as clinical similarity to secondary gastroenteric symptoms and common food poisonings of bacterial, parasitic or viral etiology. Eventually, it was found that people affected by ciguatoxins had trips to coastal areas hours before the onset of symptoms.