title: Temporal trends and epidemiological aspects of ciguatera in French Polynesia: a 10-year analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to report the temporal trends of the incidence of ciguatera poisoning from 1992 to 2001 in French Polynesia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective study analysed 7842 cases of ciguatera disease recorded over a period of 10 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The annual incidence varied from 26.3 to 41.9 per 10,000 person-years. An analysis of cases grouped by archipelago revealed differences in incidences (P < 0.0001) with the most remote archipelagos having the highest incidences. A detailed analysis on a sub-sample of recorded cases for which clinical information was available (n = 1824) confirmed the neurological and gastrointestinal nature of this seafood poisoning.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The incidence of ciguatera poisoning appeared relatively stable during the 10 years of the study period. However, the gradient of remoteness observed suggests an adaptation of management of ciguatera disease to each archipelago.
authors: Public Health Research Unit, Laval University Medical Research Center-CHUQ, Québec, Canada.
authors: Marie-Ludivine
authors: ML
authors: Chateau-Degat
authors: Eric
authors: E
authors: Dewailly
authors: Nicole
authors: N
authors: Cerf
authors: Ngoc Lam
authors: NL
authors: Nguyen
authors: Marie-Odile
authors: MO
authors: Huin-Blondey
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Hubert
authors: François
authors: F
authors: Laudon
authors: René
authors: R
authors: Chansin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D036841:Ciguatera Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011114:Polynesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution