medical Definition of amnesic shellfish poisoning
: shellfish poisoning that is characterized by gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms (such as vomiting, abdominal cramps, headache, and permanent short-term memory loss) and sometimes death and is caused by domoic acid ingested in contaminated shellfish
- Eating … shellfish with domoic acid concentrations that exceed 20 parts per million can lead to amnesic shellfish poisoning.
- —Jeffrey P. Mayor, The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), 7 Oct. 2004
- There is no antidote for amnesic shellfish poisoning, and neither cooking nor freezing clams lessens the toxicity.
- —Allen Thomas, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), 15 May 2003
