seafood to a minimum of 140ºF/60ºC Temperatures above 185ºF/82ºC are required to eliminate some viruses Some chemical toxins produced by microbes survive cooking, and can cause food poisoning even though the microbes themselves are destroyed Among the most important microbes in fish and shellfish are the following: Vibrio bacteria, natural inhabitants of estuary waters that thrive in warm summer months One species causes cholera, another a milder diarrheal disease, and a third (V vulnificus), usually contracted from raw oysters and the deadliest of the seafood-related diseases, causes high fever, a drop in blood pressure, and damage to skin and flesh, and kills more than half of its victims Botulism bacteria, which grow in the digestive system of unchilled fish and produce a deadly nerve toxin Most cases of fish-borne botulism are caused by improperly cold-smoked, salt-cured, or fermented products Intestinal viruses, the “Norwalk” viruses, which attack the lining of the small intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea Hepatitis viruses A and E, which can cause long-lasting liver damage Scombroid Poisoning Scombroid poisoning is unusual in that it is caused by a number of otherwise harmless microbes when they grow on insufficiently chilled mackerels of the g e n u s Scomber and other similarly active swimmers, including tuna, mahimahi, bluefish, herring, sardine, and anchovy Within half an hour of eating one of these contaminated fish, even fully cooked, the victim suffers from temporary headache, rash, itching, nausea, and diarrhea The symptoms are apparently caused by a number of toxins ... hour of eating one of these contaminated fish, even fully cooked, the victim suffers from temporary headache, rash, itching, nausea, and diarrhea The symptoms are apparently caused by a number of. .. otherwise harmless microbes when they grow on insufficiently chilled mackerels of the g e n u s Scomber and other similarly active swimmers, including tuna, mahimahi, bluefish, herring, sardine, and anchovy Within... intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea Hepatitis viruses A and E, which can cause long-lasting liver damage Scombroid Poisoning Scombroid poisoning is unusual in that it is caused by a number of otherwise harmless microbes when they grow