Alaska News

Three suspected PSP poisonings reported in Juneau area

According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, three suspected cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) were reported to the Alaska Section of Epidemiology this week, prompting officials to renew warnings about the potentially fatal danger to foragers.

Three people reported symptoms of PSP poisoning after eating clams harvested in the Juneau area over Easter weekend. All three experienced numbness and tingling in the mouth and face, and one of them reported the sensation spreading to his hands. The symptoms arose within a few hours after ingesting the shellfish.

All three suspected victims are recovering.

The first case, reported April 10, struck a man who reported eating razor clams harvested from Admiralty Island. The other two cases, reported April 12, struck two people who reported eating butter clams harvested from either Lincoln Island or Ralston Island.

The Department of Health warns the public:

Learn more about PSP from the Centers for Disease Control, or from the Alaska Department of Health.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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