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Harmful algal bloom#Harmful effects

Human health

Food

Eating fish or shellfish from lakes with a bloom nearby is not recommended. 

Studies have shown that algal toxins may be the reason for as many as 60,000 intoxication cases in the world every year. This is due to the accumulation of potent toxins in shellfish that consume those algae and later consumed by humans which may result in Amnesic shellfish poisoning, Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and Paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Toxic paralytic shellfish poisoning in the Philippines during red tides have caused at least 120 deaths over a few decades. After a HAB in Monterey Bay, California, health officials warned people not to eat certain parts of anchovy, sardines, or crab caught in the bay.In 1987 a new illness had emerged which was called amnesic shellfish poisoning. People who had eaten mussels from Prince Edward Island were found to have amnesic shellfish poisoning. The illness was caused by domoic acid, produced by a diatom found in the area where the mussels were cultivated. In 2015 most shellfish fisheries in Washington, Oregon and California were shut down because of high concentrations of toxic domoic acid in shellfish. People have been warned that inhaling vapors from waves or wind during a red tide may cause asthma attacks or lead to other respiratory ailments.

Agricultural officials in Utah worried that even crops could become contaminated if irrigated with toxic water, although they admit that they can't measure contamination accurately because of so many variables in farming. They issued warnings to residents, however, out of caution.