Eating puffer fish, 3 fishermen almost lost their lives

On January 31st, Quang Nam Central General Hospital announced that it had received patients who were fishermen from Tam Hai commune (Nui Thanh district, Quang Nam province) suffering from food poisoning after eating pufferfish caught at sea.

Previously, at noon on January 28, after catching 3 puffer fish and eating them, about 30 minutes later, 4 fishermen showed signs of headaches and vomiting. However, it was not until 5:00 p.m. that the victims were taken to the emergency room by their relatives.

Four fishermen, including LVV (50 years old), NVC (55 years old), BVB (35 years old), and D.DN (41 years old, all residing in Tam Hai commune, Nui Thanh district), were admitted to Quang Nam Central General Hospital. Three patients, V., C., and B., presented with headaches, vomiting, slow responsiveness, and numbness of the tongue; patient N. only experienced a mild headache.

The fishermen who were poisoned by pufferfish are now out of critical condition.

By the afternoon of January 29th, Mr. N. was discharged from the hospital, while the remaining three patients were treated in the Intensive Care and Toxicology Unit. Having overcome the critical stage, the health of the three patients gradually stabilized.

According to doctors, pufferfish are dangerous and people should not consume them as food. Because they contain the toxin tetrodotoxin, consuming them can cause symptoms such as numbness of the tongue, fatigue, panic, weakness in the limbs, low blood pressure, loss of consciousness, paralysis of the arms and legs, and potentially respiratory failure leading to death.

NGUYEN CUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/an-ca-noc-3-ngu-dan-suyt-mat-mang-post725069.html