Amnesic shellfish poisoning

Amnesic shellfish poisoning, abbreviated ASP, is an illness caused by eating shellfish that contain the marine biotoxin domoic acid. In mammals, including humans, domoic acid acts as a neurotoxin, and it can cause permanent loss of short-term memory, brain damage and, in severe cases, death. The toxin is produced naturally by marine diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia and by the species Nitzschia navis-varingica. When shellfish accumulate it in high concentrations while filter feeding, it can pass on to birds, marine mammals and humans that eat the contaminated shellfish. Although human illness has so far been linked only to shellfish, the toxin can build up in many marine organisms that eat phytoplankton, such as anchovies and sardines, and poisoning of non-human animals is often called domoic acid poisoning.