Cautious return to beaches advised
28th August 2009
“The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is no longer advising complete avoidance of Hauraki Gulf beaches but is recommending that those who use the beaches do so with great care. Children must be supervised at the beach at all times and should not be allowed to eat anything found at the beach,” said Dr Julia Peters, Clinical Director at the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS).
We are no longer suggesting that people should stay away from our beaches but we are saying that at the beach:
- Children and pets must be closely supervised at all times.
- Children and pets should not be allowed to eat things found on the beach.
- Parents need to be aware of where their children are swimming or playing and what they are handling.
- Anyone going to the beach should take care not to touch any sea life, dead or alive, found on the beach.
- Sea slugs on any beach must be avoided.
- Routine advice is not to collect shellfish from beaches in urban environments because of the potential for contamination.
Medical attention should be sought immediately should any person become seriously unwell after going to the beach.
Following the death of a dog at Narrowneck Beach, sea slugs, both dead and alive, were found at both Narrowneck and Cheltenham beaches. Both the sea slugs and the vomit from the dead dog were tested and found to contain Tetrodotoxin (TTX). TTX is known to be a potent poison found in tropical puffer fish but not previously described in sea slugs. TTX is extremely toxic to humans and even a very small dose would be fatal.
Approximately 15 dogs from a wide geographic area within the Hauraki Gulf have become unwell with symptoms consistent with TTX poisoning. Five of these dogs have died.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty about this event and the origin of the TTX in the sea slugs is unknown. We also do not know whether sea slugs can clear TTX from their systems, or if this is a one off or a recurrent, localised or generalised event. This means that anyone going to the beach must be cautious,” says Dr Peters.
Sea slugs are a ubiquitous organism, with a very wide range, in the marine environment of New Zealand. Strandings of sea slugs may occur anywhere, possibly related to prevailing weather patterns.
“While no humans have been affected to date, people have taken care to treat our warnings seriously and many have been staying away from the beaches,” said Dr Peters.
“The Auckland coastline is beautiful but is not hazard-free. For example some people have accidents at the beach and there are also hazards such as stingrays and sharks. There may now be a new risk on our coastline about which we do not yet have complete information.“
Dr Peters thanked the public for their cooperation with previous warnings and for the patience they have shown during the course of this event.
ARPHS will continue to update its public health advice as new information becomes available.
See also: First Aid response for Tetrodotoxin Poisoning
For public enquiries about human health issues, please call 09 623 4600.
For media enquiries please contact:
Manu KeungCommunications Team
Auckland Regional Public Health Service
Ph: (09) 623 4600 or Mob: 021 243 2421
Sea slug photographs: size up to 100mm
Images courtesy of Auckland Regional Council
