Another suspected puffer fish poisoning case reported from Hong Kong
Hong Kong Image/CIA
Just a little over two weeks after Hong Kong health officials reported a case of puffer fish poisoning in a 32-year-old man on Dec. 3, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) is warning the public not to eat puffer fish after reporting a second suspected case of the potentially deadly poisoning, according to a CHP press release Friday.
According to health officials, the newest case involves a 22-year-old woman who developed peri-oral numbness and weakness about two hours after consuming a puffer fish for lunch yesterday (December 20) in her home in Kowloon City district.
She was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital last night and is currently in stable condition.
Puffer fish poisoning, or tetrodotoxication is an acute and potentially life threatening illness after eating puffer fish, or fugu. The mortality rate of this type of food poisoning is around 60%.
Tetrodotoxin is a heat-stable toxin that is concentrated in the liver, intestines and ovaries of the fish. According to the Ishikawa health service association, tetrodotoxin is nearly 100 times more poisonous than potassium cyanide.
Symptoms usually begin within an hour or so after ingesting the fish. Symptoms include lethargy, weakness, numbness of the face, lips and extremities, a floating sensation and emesis. These early symptoms are usually quickly followed by flaccid paralysis and respiratory failure.
Patients that survive require respiratory support and fully recover within 48 hours.
Tetraodotoxin is also found in salamanders, newts and other types of animals.
A CHP spokesperson said the toxin is heat-stabile, thus it is not affected by cooking or boiling. “Avoiding eating puffer fish is the best way to prevent puffer fish poisoning”, according to health personnel.
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[…] a follow-up to a story last Friday, the Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is advising the […]