ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska health officials are reporting the year’s first case of paralytic shellfish poisoning.

The Department of Health and Social Services reports a person experienced PSP symptoms after eating a clam harvested near Perryville on the Alaska Peninsula.

The symptoms can include tingling of the lips and tongue within minutes of eating a toxic shellfish.

Symptoms may progress to tingling of fingers and toes and the loss of muscle control in the arms and legs followed by difficulty breathing.

The department says some people experience a sense of floating or nausea.

If chest and abdomen muscles become paralyzed, death can occur within hours.

In the past month, high PSP toxin levels have been detected in shellfish collected from Chignik Lagoon, Chignik Bay, King Cove and Sand Point.

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