Ciguatera fish poisoning linked to the ingestion of barracuda in a Montreal restaurant--Quebec.

Most cases of ciguatera poisoning reported in the past have involved Canadians who ate fish in the Caribbean while on holiday. These cases have implicated grouper in the Dominican Republic(1,2), kingfish in Jamaica, and barracuda in Haiti(3). A fish casserole caused the illness in 57 people during a trip to Cuba(4). Ciguatera poisonings have also been reported in Canada as a result of importing certain fish. Dried barracuda brought back from Jamaica in 1983 and imported red snapper bought in an Ontario market were identified sources(5). This report describes an incident of ciguatera poisoning which occurred among five patrons of a Montreal restaurant. This appears to be the first outbreak of ciguatera poisoning in Quebec resulting from eating fish in a restaurant.