Ciguatera-like poisoning in the Mediterranean.

A case of group poisoning from the consumption of the fish Sarpa salpa, caught in the Mediterranean coastal waters of Israel, is presented. Mullets and rabbitfish caught at the same site caused no harm. This is the third case of ciguatera poisoning in the region and the first to be transferred by a fish which is not a Red Sea immigrant. It implies that toxic algae dinoflagellates, originating from the Red Sea, crossed the Suez Canal and found their way to the Mediterranean coastal waters.