Family Of 11 Paralysed After Eating Deadly Pufferfish (PS: It's Deadlier Than Cyanide)
Almost all pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and deadly to humans, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.
By Sadho Ram — 25 Oct 2014, 12:08 PM — Updated about 10 years ago
Eleven members of the Souza family, from Rio de Janerio, have been hospitalised after unwittingly cooking and eating a poisonous pufferfish for dinner. The fish was given to the family by a family friend who had recently returned from a sea fishing expedition.
In an act of goodwill gone terribly wrong, an extremely poisonous variety of the pufferfish was given to the Souza family of Rio de Janeiro. The family proceeded to cook the delicacy, inviting extended family members to partake in the feast due to the “tasty” appearance of the dish.
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The group of neighbours, including four children, were hospitalised after they made a mistake while preparing the fish - one of the deadliest in the world. Within minutes all had become violently sick, according to Brazil's RJ TV news. Five have since left hospital.
Cristiane Souza, whose 41-year-old husband Jose Augusto ate the fish, said she had called her extended family for what she thought would be a delicious fish feast on the evening of 22 October
Cristiane Souza, who said that the fish looked to tasty, they had invited the whole family, described to Brazil's RJ TV how her husband Jose Augusto lost all feeling shortly after taking the first bite. "My husband was the first to say he couldn't feel his tongue, then his face, and then his arms. Then his legs went dead and he couldn't stand up any more. It was terrifying."
“My brother-in-law was the same. He didn’t even make it out the door. We had to carry them out and rush them to hospital in a car.”
Grandmother Maria do Carmo said: “We had no idea it was a pufferfish. They’ll all in a critical condition. My grandson, my daughter and my son-in-law, they are all in hospital. We’re praying for a miracle.”
The creature, which contains a toxin more lethal than cyanide, must be expertly prepared to avoid poisoning
The pufferfish contains a toxin 1,200 times more lethal than cyanine, a drop of which can kill within 24 hours
Image via telegraph.co.ukThe doctor said one of the neighbours claimed to know how to cook it, but made a mistake in the preparation. Those affected included five members of two separate families - the De Souzas and the Da Silvas.
Three of the Da Silva children were among those poisoned. The six others hospitalised were Adriana Fatima Santos, 34, Anderson Lucas, 31, Luciana Goncalves, 22, Maciel Rodrigues de Freitas, 29, and Cauan Goncalves, a child whose age was not known.
On Friday, five of the family members were discharged from hospital, the BBC reported
Three are in intensive care and one of the children remains in a serious condition. Another adult and one of the children are reportedly in a stable condition.