Just for fun, here's what the CDC says about TTX on their "Select Agents of Concern" list:
Name: Tetrodotoxin
Agent Type: Toxin
General Information: A variety of marine species, notably the puffer fish and the California newt, contain tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin that, even in small amounts, can cause rapid and violent death in humans. Poisonings from tetrodotoxin have been almost exclusively caused by consumption of puffer fish prepared by uncertified chefs, and a large majority of these cases occur in Japan where puffer fish is a traditional delicacy. Researchers have found that animals that contain tetrodotoxin do not produce it themselves; rather they are host to bacteria that produce the toxin.
Transmission: Poisoning results from consuming tetrodotoxin. Person-to-person transmission is not possible.
Symptoms: Symptoms of tetrodotoxin can appear 20 minutes – 3 hours after toxin is introduced. Death can occur 4-6 hours after introduction. The first symptoms are numbness in the lips and tongue, followed by a tingling sensation in the face and extremities, and a feeling of lightness or floating. Headache, epigastric pain, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting may occur. Paralysis and respiratory distress follow, and may be accompanied by dyspnea, cyanosis, and hypotension. The paralysis grows more severe and convulsions, mental impairment, and cardiac arrhythmia may occur. Despite the severity of these symptoms, the victim may be completely conscious and lucid until shortly before death. Those who survive intoxication fully recover after a few days without permanent effects.
Fatality rate: 50%.
Treatment: There is no specific antidote; however monoclonal antibodies in mice have been shown to protect mice against tetrodotoxin. Treatment is supportive and symptom-specific.
Can't you see them trying to eradicate Taricha sp. as part of the Patriot Act?
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