Opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the risks to human health associated with the proliferation of Ostreopsis spp. on the Basque coast
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In France, the presence of marine microalgae of the genus Ostreopsis has been identified repeatedly on the Mediterranean coast for several years, whereas on the French Basque coasts its presence is much more recent. In the summers of 2021 and 2022, major Ostreopsis flowering episodes were reported on the Basque coast, resulting in several hundred cases of intoxication among holidaymakers and residents. The main route of human exposure is inhalation of aerosols, although it is not yet known whether the agents responsible for poisoning are Ostreopsis cells, cell debris, known toxins produced by Ostreopsis, or other as yet unidentified compounds. Other routes of exposure (dermal contact, eye contact, ingestion of contaminated water or seafood) are also possible. Poisoning is manifested through various signs and symptoms, occurring within 48 hours of exposure (Neurosensory and neurological, respiratory, dermal and digestive). This document presents the opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), established from the work of its WATER and ERCA Expert Committees. ANSES received a request from the Directorate General for Health (DGS) and the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) to update knowledge about Ostreopsis that had been reported in the Agency's opinions from 2007 and 2008 (ANSES, 2007 and 2008), and draw up specific recommendations for managing Ostreopsis proliferation on the Basque coast. The literature review conducted as part of this expert appraisal revealed that knowledge about the genus Ostreopsis (diversity, biology, ecology, toxins produced) is still too fragmentary to characterise the hazard and risk to human health. Nevertheless to help local authorities affected by Ostreopsis blooms, Agency proposes a surveillance and quality monitoring strategy based on collaboration between site managers and the regional health agencies (ARSs), applicable to sites currently subject to bathing water quality monitoring and water sports sites that meet the conditions below.
Source: Food Risk Assess Europe
Authors: Rodolphe Lemée, Jean‐François Humbert, Eric Abadie, Zouher Amzil, Elisa Berdalet, Ronel Biré, Marie‐Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, Luc de Haro, Nicolas Delcourt, Valérie Fessard, Jean‐Philippe Jaeg, César Mattei, Anne Oppliger, Anne‐Sophie Pavaux, Eva Ternon, Gilles Bornert, Anne Togola, Jean Baron, Jean‐Luc Boudenne, Nicolas Cimetiere, Bruno Coulomb, Christophe Dagot, Sabine Denooz, Isabelle Dublineau, Frédéric Feder, Matthieu Fournier, Stéphane Garnaud‐Corbel, Nathalie Garrec, Johnny Gasperi, Julio Gonçalvès, Jean‐Louis Gonzalez, Olivier Horner, Michel Joyeux, Jérôme Labanowski, Sophie Lardy‐Fontan, Françoise Lucas, Christophe Mechouk, Laurent Moulin, Damien Mouly, Fabienne Petit, Catherine Quiblier, Pauline Rousseau‐Gueutin, Marie‐Pierre Sauvant‐Rochat, Michèle Tremblay, Bruno Le Bizec, Marie‐Louise Scippo, Pierre‐Marie Badot, Marie‐Yasmine Bottein, Rachida Chekri, Christine Demeilliers, Virginie Desvignes, Erwan Engel, Gautier Eppe, Anne‐Sophie Ficheux, Eric Houdeau, Emilie Lance, Olivier Laprevote, Michel Laurentie, Ludovic Le Hegarat, Jean‐Charles Leblanc, Nicolas Loiseau, David Makowski, Francesca Mancini, Eric Marchioni, Jean‐François Masfaraud, Mathilde Munier, Isabelle Oswald, Anne Platel, Yann Sivry, Paule Vasseur, Estelle Checlair‐Westerberg, Eléonore Ney, Nathalie Arnich, Carole Catastini
Institutions: Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Sorbonne Université, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Ifremer, Hôpital Sainte-Marguerite, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail, École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, Mitochondrial and Cardiovascular Physiopathology, Université d'Angers, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CentraleSupélec, Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, Service de Santé des Armées, Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières, Eau de Paris (France), Laboratoire Chimie de l'Environnement, Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes, Anti-infectieux : supports moléculaires des résistances et innovations thérapeutiques, Université de Limoges, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, Université de Rouen Normandie, Office Français de la Biodiversité, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment, Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université de Poitiers, Institut de Chimie des Milieux et des Matériaux de Poitiers, Laboratoire Eau, Environnement et Systèmes Urbains, Santé Publique France, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Université de Rennes, Institut Pascal, Laboratoire D'étude des Résidus et Contaminants Dans les Aliments, Oniris, Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement, Ecology and Conservation Science for Sustainable Seas, Translational Innovation in Medicine and Complexity, Qualité des Produits Animaux, University of Liège, Toxicologie Alimentaire, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Cibles Thérapeutiques et conception de médicaments, Mathématiques et Informatique Appliquées, Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations, Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, Université Paris Diderot
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411619737