Toxin death

[MERKEY]

Heartland man tragically dies of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning aquarium - NewsBreak

HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank. On Sunday, February 21, 2021, at approximately 8:52 p.m., the Dallas Fire Department's HAZMAT team was asked to respond, as mutual aid with the Crandall...

www.newsbreak.com

I wish news articles would go in more depth as this can be misleading. People should be cautious but don't get all freaked out.

I would think Proper cleaning of a tank would not cause this.

He must have done something bad.

 

[BighohoReef]

Heartland man tragically dies of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning aquarium - NewsBreak

HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank. On Sunday, February 21, 2021, at approximately 8:52 p.m., the Dallas Fire Department's HAZMAT team was asked to respond, as mutual aid with the Crandall...

www.newsbreak.com

I wish news articles would go in more depth as this can be misleading. People should be cautious but don't get all freaked out.

I would think Proper cleaning of a tank would not cause this.

He must have done something bad.

Talk about in-depth reporting . Agreed @MERKEY I've never heard of palytoxin in the water column killing someone before.

I've cut zoas plenty of times but always masked up, gloves and eyewear and typically in the garage with the door open.

It's sad but I'd like to know more about the situation.

 

[Lasse]

I can´t read this article from the EU but this is not impossible IMO. Palotoxin can be transferred in humid air IME, especially if it was zoas from the Palythoa genus in the aquarium

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Augus7us]

That's a news aggregator... Here is the actual article:

Heartland man tragically dies of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning aquarium

HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank.

www.inforney.com

There, Crandall Police Department Chief Dean Winters confirms to inForney.com a resident was exposed to palytoxin while cleaning a saltwater aquatic tank.

In addition to the Dallas Fire-Rescue HAZMAT team, Winters says a biologist who is familiar with the aquatic life that can present palytoxin was dispatched to the residence.

 

[Lasse]

This is the answer from that website that not is willing to follow the rules in the EU

Sincerely Lasse

 

[StlSalt]

HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank.

On Sunday, February 21, 2021, at approximately 8:52 p.m., the Dallas Fire Department's HAZMAT team was asked to respond, as mutual aid with the Crandall Police Department and Crandall Fire Department, to a home located in the 2100 block of Long Forest Road in the Heartland community.

There, Crandall Police Department Chief Dean Winters confirms to inForney.com a resident was exposed to palytoxin while cleaning a saltwater aquatic tank.

The resident, later identified by family and friends as Marlon Linton, was transported by CareFlite to a Dallas hospital. Linton was later pronounced deceased.



In addition to the Dallas Fire-Rescue HAZMAT team, Winters says a biologist who is familiar with the aquatic life that can present palytoxin was dispatched to the residence.

"Palytoxin is known to be a dangerous and often deadly toxin which can cause significant morbidity and mortality," according to a 2015 research journal published by Hindawi. "Cases of human exposure have been documented from ingestion of contaminated seafood, dermal exposure, and inhalational exposure. This rare toxin which is most often found in soft corals and dinoflagellates has been definitively identified in zoanthid corals found both in the homes of collectors and for sale commercially."

Linton was remembered by family and friends as a devoted father and husband.

A GoFundMe campaign raising funds to assist Linton's family can be found, here.

 

[Opus]

Heartland man tragically dies of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning aquarium - NewsBreak

HEARTLAND, Texas — A Heartland man tragically died of apparent palytoxin poisoning hours after cleaning his household saltwater aquatic tank. On Sunday, February 21, 2021, at approximately 8:52 p.m., the Dallas Fire Department's HAZMAT team was asked to respond, as mutual aid with the Crandall...

www.newsbreak.com

I wish news articles would go in more depth as this can be misleading. People should be cautious but don't get all freaked out.

I would think Proper cleaning of a tank would not cause this.

He must have done something bad.

You can't expect too much from a news agency for a town of less than 15k people. The person that died actually lived in Hearland which isn't even incorporated, it is just a community outside of of that city.

But I do agree, they have produced no evidence suggesting that it was palytoxin other than he had cleaned his aquarium earlier. This was posted hours ago on some local reef facebook groups and some people think the guy had worked at various pet stores around the Dallas area. I would assume we would need a toxin report before any of this could be confirmed and my guess is by the time that comes back this will be all forgotten and it will never be mentioned publicly.

 

[Lasse]

Thanks @StlSalt

I have own experiences of this - ending up for 3 days at the hospitals. I have also some friends that have been nearly death by this dam thing.

I have donate to the GoFound page. The fundraising have have reach more than 58 % in one day. Please help them fulfill the goal.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[jarviz]

Thanks @StlSalt

I have own experiences of this - ending up for 3 days at the hospitals. I have also some friends that have been nearly death by this dam thing.

I have donate to the GoFound page. The fundraising have have reach more than 58 % in one day. Please help them fulfill the goal.

Sincerely Lasse

I keep reading that palytoxin poisoning is extreeemely rare. like you almost have to try to get it intentionally for it to have an effect on you. How are you and your friends all getting it? Do you guys frag zoas all day?

I'm not a big fan of zoas and the palytoxin thing just gives me another reason to not get zoas lol

 

[Cnidoblast]

From what scientific papers I have read it seems it's mostly the more drab brownish palythoa species that seem to be toxic - I really think somebody needs to come out with a spot test for palytoxin - ELISA might be a good way of doing this!

Your named Z's (yellow brick roads, mega triple compressed bud lite gorilla nips, etc ) are likely not gonna be toxic but always gloves and goggles when working in a reef tank! - Bristle worms sting, Soft corals can make toxins, Acropora sticks can cut you and give you MRSA, Fish bites and cuts can give you mycobacterium. Snails and shrimp can carry Vibrio , etc

 

[Cnidoblast]

The marine biology community sadly doesn't get funding for reef tank related studies - the higher ups have fell into a cycle of only giving money to climate related things - while this research can be quite important, it is not the sole facet of marine biology and thus funding needs to be opened up for other areas of this large field

All research breakthroughs in reefing thus far have came from the private sector

 

[Lasse]

In my case - it was a move of a big 10 years old reef of around 5000 L. Around 300 kg of rocks with very much of one Palythoa species was taken out and transported to a new public aquarium in my home town. All of us four taken part in the move plus people living on second floor in the house containing the old aquarium become sick. Three of us + one old lady on second floor was hospitalized. The old lady¨s only contact was through the ventilation system, We four had both direct toxic responses and contact response. Only one not being hospitalized had been using gloves - therefore no contact infections. One of us - never have come back to work again (this happens 2001). He was the one with most contact with this type of corals of us. He had an old history (+20 years) of reefing. This event - plus some other events from Europe indicate that the damage will be more serve if it is repeated contact with these organism.

An other friend try to dip stones i hot water (outside) both he and his wife end up in hospital. Their contact was through the vapur.

I keep reading that palytoxin poisoning is extreeemely rare. like you almost have to try to get it intentionally for it to have an effect on you. How are you and your friends all getting it? Do you guys frag zoas all day?

All cases here in Sweden has been occasionally when people have handled these organisms. There is a lot of indications that Palotoxin NOT is produced by the organism itself - instead it is produced of a microorganism associated with the zoanthid. All individuals or species do not have this microorganism - therefore not all are toxic. But there seems not to be a way to differ between which individuals that have the microorganism or not. Many people says - I have handled this for 20 years - nothing have happens - it is a hoax. I use to response that I have drive for 50 years but not been in a deadly crash - but never the less - people will be killed in car crash - just not me - yet.

Sincerely Lassse

 

[brandon429]

my lfs in the 90s handled brown palythoids by the handful and so did I

one squirted me in the eye once, bacteria was my fear I didn't know about ptxn back in early 2000s

they ran gas chromatography on both his blood and the tank water this fast, and got it off to press as confirmed in both places? its a terrible loss but so far its something happened to that man, and some zoanthids were in the home and he recently did a water change. we used to handle them then go eat burgers with the same hand not knowing any better. nowadays I wouldn't, but we did.
brown ugly palys were everyones cheap starter coral, we had probably 400 people keeping them as total newbs back in the 90s in just this one city with weekly contact at the LFS, not a single tale in 25 years of one person having any form of anything other than lighter wallet. I would recommend them online to hundreds of reefers, just hundreds in our little pico tanks. we'd burn them with peroxide repeatedly of course, its all documented at nano-reef.com

the palytoxin wipeout thing is about 8 years old now but the hobby is 50 per Pauls posts.

 

[Lasse]

I think that it is very, very important to high light the risk with handling these type of corals and not down play the risk with argues - it have never ever happen me. Reefers - and especially new reefers have to be educated to handle this type of corals with very much of respect. Especially we that have been out for this have a duty to tell others about it.

In my case - the toxic response was during the first 12 hours, a response in my eyes was for 24 hours and when I thought it was over - I literary in real time could see how a necrose was spreading from a wound in my hand further up to the arm. One of my coworkers was already at the hospital with the same interaktion - fast bacterial necrosis on the hands - it was a fast transport into the hospital and treatment with very, very strong antibiotics.

What i have learned is that you can´t know which individual zoanthids carry the toxic substances and the associated microorganism and you can´t no exactly how your body react to the toxins or the microorganisms

This is the one that was responsible for sending me to the hospital

​

Sincerely Lasse

 

[brandon429]

I have had these concerns about reef tanks in elementary classrooms.

hs biology is different, but small children / a legit medical concern as they don't follow rules well at all times/ hands in the tank grab the starfish etc. even without the palys, vibrio has effects similar to your descript and that can come along in any portion of the reef that's wet.

 

[Lasse]

Vibriosis often create indications like Erysipelas and give no toxic response. With this bacteria (or microorganism) you could see the necrose just get worser and worser.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Cnidoblast]

Lasse, The one that got you sick looks a lot like the most toxic of the bunch - p. heliodiscus

Sunray Zoanthid, Palythoa heliodiscus