Shellfish poisoning, paralytic

Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is a constellation of clinical effects caused by consumption of contaminated shellfish. Implicated sources (shellfish) include mussels, clams, and oysters. Shellfish are contaminated by the ingestion of toxin-producing marine organisms (dinoflagellates) that proliferate during summer in temperate and tropical waters worldwide. Symptoms of PSP include numbness, muscle weakness, and paralysis. Saxitoxin is the name of the specific neurotoxin implicated in PSP.