Fishing for puffer fish as bait, 1 person died, 2 people hospitalized

SGGPO August 21, 2023 15:14

While anchoring a fishing boat at Nam Du port, Kien Hai district ( Kien Giang province), 3 fishermen decided to go fishing for puffer fish as a snack. As a result, 1 person died from poisoning, 2 others were hospitalized.

Two patients with pufferfish poisoning were rescued in time and are now out of danger and gradually recovering. Photo: Contributor

On the afternoon of August 21, Doctor Huynh Trong Tam, Head of the General Planning Department of Kien Giang Provincial General Hospital, said that two people hospitalized for puffer fish poisoning have recovered.

Previously, at noon on July 20, the Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department of Kien Giang General Hospital admitted two fishermen in a state of convulsions, numbness in the tongue, numbness in the legs, headache, and fatigue. Through examining their medical history, it was learned that these two patients and another person had drunk puffer fish. After eating puffer fish, one person died.

Doctor Tam added that to rule out ethanol poisoning (alcohol in wine), the hospital had a thorough consultation and determined that the two patients had typical signs of puffer fish poisoning.

Health experts recommend that it is best not to eat foods of unknown origin or that are toxic. In fact, many fishermen still regularly use puffer fish as food and as a snack. However, this is a fish whose toxicity changes constantly with the seasons and reproductive cycle, so it is difficult to know when puffer fish are poisonous or not.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cau-ca-noc-lam-moi-nhau-1-nguoi-tu-vong-2-nguoi-nhap-vien-cap-cuu-post702452.html