Toxic red tide detected along Texas coastline — here’s how it can affect your health
A red tide bloom currently affecting the Texas coast could cause respiratory problems for people exposed to the toxic algae.
FILE: Red tide detected along Florida beaches
Besides the cold weather, red tide could be impacting some Gulf Coast beaches.
GALVESTON, Tex. - A red tide bloom along the Texas coast is prompting warnings from officials as the toxic algae could cause respiratory problems for beachgoers.
Red tide is a naturally occurring, higher-than-normal concentration of microscopic algae that can affect fish and cause respiratory irritation to humans, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
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red tide beach in florida (TriggerPhoto / Getty Images)
The department said staff have been monitoring fish kills and taking water samples from Crystal Beach and Bolivar Penninsula south to the north jetty at Boliver Roads.
Additional areas being monitored include southern Galveston Island from the south jetty for about 12 miles, including the Steward Beach and Pleasure Island Pier, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
WHAT VIRUSES MAKE UP A RED TIDE BLOOM?
Biologists with the department started receiving reports of a red tide bloom off the Galveston coast on Sept. 8.
Water samples indicate moderate to high concentrations of red tide cells, according to officials, and beachgoers are already reporting mild to severe respiratory irritation resulting from the bloom.
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The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Sciences said that over the next day or so, some beaches may experience a moderate to high risk of respiratory irritation. The irritation is most likely when winds are blowing onshore or alongshore, and less likely when winds are blowing offshore.
Red tide, which contains the microscopic algae Kerenia brevis, produces a toxin known as brevetoxin, which affects the central nervous system of fish by paralyzing them and affecting their breathing. As a result, red tide blooms often result in dead fish washing up on Gulf beaches.
As of Monday, fish kills primarily involve Gulf menhaden and striped mullet, though other common species are being seen in smaller numbers, officials said.
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When the red tide algae reproduce in dense concentrations, or blooms, they can be seen as discolored patches of ocean water, often reddish in color, hence the name red tide, the department noted.
Red tide bloom along the Texas coastline. (Texas Parks and Wildlife)
Red tide can also give people neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) if they eat molluscan shellfish, including oysters, clams, scallops and mussels, that feed on the algal species.
People with NSP typically develop onset symptoms within three hours of eating contaminated shellfish. This includes abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
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Any shellfish legally available in markets and restaurants should be safe to eat, as they were likely harvested from areas that the bloom didn't affect, according to officials.
Florida beach covered with atlantic sargassum seaweed toxic algae bloom known as red tide (Julie Deshaies)
Officials said you should never eat ant fish or shellfish that has washed ashore sick, dead or found floating belly up in the water.
The Parks and Wildlife Department's Kills and Spills Team is monitoring the extent. Click here to learn more.