hmmmm.... I'm not going to call somebody a plagiarist but this account is remarkably similar to the "strange side note" Sprung note in the last paragraph of his article;
Quote:
A word of caution about Zoanthids:
I must mention the fact that zoanthids are quite toxic. They produce a substance known as palytoxin (Mebs, 1989) that is one of the most toxic naturally occurring poisons known. This substance was first discovered associated with Palythoa spp. in Hawaii, but has since been found in Zoanthus as well (Fosså and Nilsen, 1998). Palytoxin is apparently produced by bacteria that live in association with zoanthids. A fascinating account about the discovery of palytoxin can be found online on the Wet Web Media site, see reference given.
A strange side note to this is the anecdotal observation I reported in my column Reef Notes in FAMA magazine that this toxin or another one associated with zoanthids may be able to be aerosolized. An aquarist trying to rid his live rocks of a species of Protopalythoa decided to remove the rocks and spray boiling water on them to kill them. A friend of his contacted me after the aquarist was in the hospital and in serious condition, the doctors unable to determine what had caused a serious reaction and respiratory distress. I pointed out the possibility of a palytoxin reaction, but was skeptical about the aerosol or "toxic fumes" that the aquarist believed made him become ill suddenly. The aquarist later recovered, but slowly. In any case, one should be extremely careful when handling zoanthids, Protopalythoa and Palythoa spp., in particular. Rinse your hands thoroughly with soap and water immediately after contacting them.
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I find it interesting that a link to the article is offered but no mention the same thing happend to somebody else. Wouldn't this make the weird news on CNN? Shouldn't the CPSC get involved since LFSs are peddling a dangerous product?
There is another thread on RC chock full of anecdotal stories about dead dogs and the like along with bleeding heart offered sympathies and so on.
In that thread there is nothing concrete just like here, it cites the wet web media story (Hawaiian myth about the guy with the shark head on his back that kills the locals)as well as some other nondescript links to dubious anecdotal information. There is little to no good information unless you're the person that believes everything they read or hear, other than to say palytoxin is indeed real. I have contended and still do that it’s not common or cannot be transmitted easily or there would be a lot of 16 year olds dieing on the job at the LFSs of the world from bagging these things up for eager customers.
Just to be clear, I don't doubt the existance of palytoxin, I do doubt, at least without some compelling evidence, that it is common in animals ordinarilly available to the aqarium trade. I'd be much more worried about the chemicals on my lawn, in my garage, or even the treated lumber on my deck, in the shed or the kids play house.....
Tim