Opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the risks to human health associated with the proliferation of Ostreopsis spp. on the Basque coast

Abstract In France, the presence of marine microalgae of the genus Ostreopsis has been identified repeatedly on the Mediterranean coast for several years, whereas on the French Basque coasts its presence is much more recent. In the summers of 2021 and 2022, major Ostreopsis flowering episodes were reported on the Basque coast, resulting in several hundred cases of intoxication among holidaymakers and residents. The main route of human exposure is inhalation of aerosols, although it is not yet known whether the agents responsible for poisoning are Ostreopsis cells, cell debris, known toxins produced by Ostreopsis, or other as yet unidentified compounds. Other routes of exposure (dermal contact, eye contact, ingestion of contaminated water or seafood) are also possible. Poisoning is manifested through various signs and symptoms, occurring within 48 hours of exposure (Neurosensory and neurological, respiratory, dermal and digestive). This document presents the opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), established from the work of its WATER and ERCA Expert Committees. ANSES received a request from the Directorate General for Health (DGS) and the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) to update knowledge about Ostreopsis that had been reported in the Agency's opinions from 2007 and 2008 (ANSES, 2007 and 2008), and draw up specific recommendations for managing Ostreopsis proliferation on the Basque coast. The literature review conducted as part of this expert appraisal revealed that knowledge about the genus Ostreopsis (diversity, biology, ecology, toxins produced) is still too fragmentary to characterise the hazard and risk to human health. Nevertheless to help local authorities affected by Ostreopsis blooms, Agency proposes a surveillance and quality monitoring strategy based on collaboration between site managers and the regional health agencies (ARSs), applicable to sites currently subject to bathing water quality monitoring and water sports sites that meet the conditions below.

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Publication Details

Journal
Food Risk Assess Europe
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2903/fr.efsa.2025.fr-0061
Primary Topic
Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the risks to human health associated with the proliferation of Ostreopsis spp. on the Basque coast

Gilles Bornert, Marie‐Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, Éric Abadie, César Mattei et al.
Food Risk Assess Europe
Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
article

Opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) on the risks to human health associated with the proliferation of Ostreopsis spp. on the Basque coast

Gilles Bornert, Marie‐Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, Éric Abadie, César Mattei, Nathalie Garrec, Christine Demeilliers, Jean‐François Masfaraud, Bruno Coulomb, Michel Laurentie, Anne Platel, Anne Oppliger, Bruno Le Bizec, Anne‐Sophie Pavaux, Nicolas Cimetière, Isabelle Dublineau, Marie‐Louise Scippo, Luc de Haro, Frédéric Feder, Mathilde Munier, Ludovic Le Hégarat, Catherine Quiblier, Christophe Dagot, Francesca Mancini, Virginie Desvignes, Fabienne Petit, Jean François Humbert, Rachida Chekri, Eva Ternon, Laurent Moulin, Eric Marchioni, Anne Togola, Yann Sivry, Matthieu Fournier, Jean‐Luc Boudenne, Émilie Lance, Nathalie Arnich, J. Barón, Rodolphe Lemée, Marie‐Pierre Sauvant‐Rochat, Valérie Fessard, Ronel Biré, Jean‐Louis Gonzalez, Jorge Gonçalves, Johnny Gaspéri, Gauthier Eppe, Nicolas Delcourt, Carole Catastini, Jean‐Philippe Jaeg, Zouher Amzil, Damien Mouly, Jérôme Labanowski, Pierre‐Marie Badot, Elisa Berdalet, Nicolas Loiseau, Olivier Laprevote, Michel Joyeux, Françoise Lucas, Paule Vasseur, Eric Houdeau, Sophie Lardy‐Fontan, Jean‐Charles Leblanc, Pauline Rousseau‐Gueutin, Anne‐Sophie Ficheux, David Makowski, Michèle Tremblay, Erwan Engel, Sabine Denooz, Stéphane Garnaud‐Corbel, Olivier Horner, Christophe Mechouk, Estelle Checlair‐Westerberg, Eléonore Ney
article en

Abstract

Abstract In France, the presence of marine microalgae of the genus Ostreopsis has been identified repeatedly on the Mediterranean coast for several years, whereas on the French Basque coasts its presence is much more recent. In the summers of 2021 and 2022, major Ostreopsis flowering episodes were reported on the Basque coast, resulting in several hundred cases of intoxication among holidaymakers and residents. The main route of human exposure is inhalation of aerosols, although it is not yet known whether the agents responsible for poisoning are Ostreopsis cells, cell debris, known toxins produced by Ostreopsis, or other as yet unidentified compounds. Other routes of exposure (dermal contact, eye contact, ingestion of contaminated water or seafood) are also possible. Poisoning is manifested through various signs and symptoms, occurring within 48 hours of exposure (Neurosensory and neurological, respiratory, dermal and digestive). This document presents the opinion of the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES), established from the work of its WATER and ERCA Expert Committees. ANSES received a request from the Directorate General for Health (DGS) and the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) to update knowledge about Ostreopsis that had been reported in the Agency's opinions from 2007 and 2008 (ANSES, 2007 and 2008), and draw up specific recommendations for managing Ostreopsis proliferation on the Basque coast. The literature review conducted as part of this expert appraisal revealed that knowledge about the genus Ostreopsis (diversity, biology, ecology, toxins produced) is still too fragmentary to characterise the hazard and risk to human health. Nevertheless to help local authorities affected by Ostreopsis blooms, Agency proposes a surveillance and quality monitoring strategy based on collaboration between site managers and the regional health agencies (ARSs), applicable to sites currently subject to bathing water quality monitoring and water sports sites that meet the conditions below.

Food Risk Assess EuropeVol. 3(2)
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (FR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Ifremer (FR), University of Liège (BE), École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR), École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique (FR), Délégation Paris 7 (FR), Institut Pascal (FR), École Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse (FR), Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR), Université Clermont Auvergne (FR), Université Paris Cité (FR), Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CH), Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien (FR), Service de Santé des Armées (FR), Université de Poitiers (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Institut de Chimie des Milieux et des Matériaux de Poitiers (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes (FR), Laboratoire D'étude des Résidus et Contaminants Dans les Aliments (FR), Santé Publique France (FR), Continental (France) (FR), Toxicologie Alimentaire (FR), Département mathématiques, informatique, sciences de la donnée et technologies du numérique (FR), Centre de recherche en Epidémiologie et Santé des Populations (FR), Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement (FR), Centre de Recherche et d’Enseignement de Géosciences de l’Environnement (FR), CentraleSupélec (FR), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire d'Angers (FR), Laboratoire Eau, Environnement et Systèmes Urbains (FR), Centre Hospitalier de Fougères (FR), CNR de la Résistance aux Antibiotiques (FR), Hôpital Sainte-Marguerite (FR), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (FR), Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail (FR), Stress Environnementaux et Biosurveillance des Milieux Aquatiques (FR), Électricité de France (France) (FR), Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (FR), Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers (FR), Eau de Paris (France) (FR), Écologie Marine Tropicale des Océans Pacifique et Indien (RE), Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne (FR), Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (FR), Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Mathématiques et Informatique Appliquées, Laboratoire Morphodynamique Continentale et Côtière, Anti-infectieux : supports moléculaires des résistances et innovations thérapeutiques (FR), Ecology and Conservation Science for Sustainable Seas, Cibles Thérapeutiques et conception de médicaments (FR), Université d'Angers (FR), Université de Rennes (FR), Université de Rouen Normandie (FR), Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne (FR), University of Lausanne (CH)
Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation, de l’Environnement et du Travail
Openalex Percentile: Top 87%
Marine Toxins and Detection Methods
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