Ciguatera in the Gilbert Islands — Cooper 
435 
and Valenciennes) and Abudefduf septemfasci- 
atus (Kendall and Goldsborough ) . These fish 
are customarily eaten only by the old people — 
who are forgetful anyway. It was not possible 
to find out if these fish were at times genuinely 
"toxic,” or merely considered so on account of 
their habits. 
Scombroid Poisoning 
There is no evidence of any scombroid poi- 
soning in the Gilbert or Ellice islands. This type 
of poisoning appears to be caused by a bacterium 
(Kawabata et al., 1956), which may be found in 
the flesh of certain scombroid fishes. This mi- 
crobe reacts on certain chemicals in the flesh of 
the fish when too long a time is allowed to 
elapse between catching and cooking the fish. 
The reaction is quickened by tropical tempera- 
tures. In the Gilberts scombroid fishes of various 
species are frequently caught early in the morn- 
ing and left in the sun, and later the flesh is 
salted for consumption the next day. No poison- 
ing has been reported, and it is thought that the 
scombroid fishes inhabiting this part of the 
Pacific are not infected with the specific bac- 
terium (Banner, personal communication). 
"Castor Oil” Fish Poisoning 
On a few islands where the sea is very deep, 
close to the shore is found the castor oil fish, 
Ruvettus sp. Although this is a favorite food, 
it has the reputation of causing poisoning from 
the purgative properties of the oil in its flesh 
(Fish and Cobb, 1954). The choicest part of the 
fish is considered to be the roe, which is boiled 
whole, but the flesh is eaten as well. If the fish 
is cooked soon after catching, no "poisoning” 
results. However, the Gilbertese, and in particu- 
lar the Ellice people, are well aware of its purga- 
tive properties; indeed, if there is a prolonged 
shortage of them, perhaps due to rough seas, 
the amount of epsom salts sold by the stores in- 
creases to quite staggering proportions. 
Clupeoid Poisoning 
During the time that the author was in the 
Gilberts, clupeoid poisoning was unreported. 
However, in November 1962 two children are 
reported to have died and other people have 
been taken ill after eating "sardines” {te tar a - 
buti) caught off Betio, Tarawa. No details are 
known, except that there were two separate 
catches involved. 
Some years ago at Bairiki, Tarawa, a woman 
died after eating what was described as "sar- 
dines” (possibly Harengula sp.). This woman 
was the only person taken ill among a number 
of people who ate the catch. At the time she was 
blamed for her own death, as she threaded her 
fish on an old piece of corroded brass wire be- 
fore cooking them, instead of using a piece of 
coconut midrib: it was considered that she had 
died from copper poisoning. 
Turtle Poisoning 
The hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata 
(Linnaeus), is considered to be deadly poison- 
ous throughout the Gilbert and Ellice islands. It 
is not generally eaten, but occasionally one will 
be eaten in error, either in mistake for the green 
turtle or by someone who does not know the 
hawksbill’s reputation. 
The poisoning caused by the hawksbill is very 
severe, and the Gilbertese describe it as being 
similar to ciguatera but very much worse. It is 
so rare for anyone to eat this turtle, and so to 
be poisoned, that none of the assistant medical 
officers who were consulted had ever seen a 
case. The details of the following cases were 
supplied by eye witnesses on whom the sever- 
ity of the poisoning had made an everlasting 
impression. 
On Arorae, about 15 years ago, a group of 
people ate a hawksbill turtle. All of them became 
very ill and five of them died. Their symptoms 
were described as follows: vomiting; very severe 
stomach ache, and diarrhea; their skin was "very 
hot to touch; they were very thirsty, but some- 
thing was wrong with their mouths and they 
were unable to drink; they were unable to move 
their arms and legs; finally, their skin peeled off 
as if they had been cooked.” One man was so 
severely poisoned that he is said to have died 
less than a day after he ate the turtle, but even 
in that short time he peeled. The others died at 
various intervals, the longest surviving about a 
week. 
The symptoms in a more recent incident on 
Tabiteuea involving an unknown number of 
people were described as follows: vomiting; 
severe stomach ache, and diarrhea; gradual paral- 
ysis; flaking skin, leaving great sores, especially 
