Generally, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain occur initially, followed by neurological dysfunction including reversal of temperature sensation, muscular aches, dizziness, anxiety, sweating, and a numbness and tingling of the mouth and digits. Recovery time is variable, and may take weeks, months, or years. There is no antidote, supportive therapy is the rule, and survivors recover. Absolute prevention of intoxication depends upon complete abstinence from eating any tropical reef fish, since there is currently no easy way to measure routinely ciguatoxin or maitotoxin in any seafood product prior to consumption. The illness, which is not fatal, is characterized by incapacitating diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and chills.
Recovery occurs within three days, with or without medical treatment.
In this case, gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms predominate. In addition, formation of toxic aerosols by wave action can produce respiratory asthma-like symptoms. No deaths have been reported and the syndrome is less severe than ciguatera, but nevertheless debilitating. Unlike ciguatera, recovery is generally complete in a few days. Symptoms are purely neurological and their onset is rapid.