- Eight children and 1 adult died after eating sea turtle meat, sickening an additional 78 people
- The deaths occurred on the island of Pemba in the Zanzibar archipelago, where it is considered a delicacy, although it can cause a rare type of food poisoning called helonitoxim
- There is no treatment for helonitoxism because the toxin that causes it has not yet been identified
Eight children and one adult have died after eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago. Authorities said an additional 78 people fell ill and were hospitalized after eating the meat, according to the data Associated Press.
The statement said they died of helonitoxism, a type of food poisoning that only occurs after eating sea turtles. Meat is considered a delicacy.
“Chelonitoxicism (sea turtle meat poisoning) is a rare and sometimes fatal type of food poisoning caused by eating sea turtles,” according to the National Library of Medicine.
“Studies show that all parts of the sea turtle are potentially poisonous. Symptoms can be as mild as nausea and vomiting to more severe forms of neurological manifestations, coma and finally death.”
Pemba Island is part of the Tanzanian Zanzibar archipelago. Meat allergy caused by tick bites becoming more common, nearly 450,000 people could be affected, CDC says
According to the Mkoani District Medical Officer, Dr Haji Bakari, the adult who died was the mother of one of the children who died from eating turtle meat. Bakari said AP that laboratory tests confirmed that all those who died had eaten sea turtle meat.
“Chelonitoxicism is caused by eating sea turtle meat contaminated with chelonitoxins, which are thought to accumulate from the environment without affecting the turtles,” says the National Library of Medicine. “Gastrointestinal symptoms occur initially, followed by neurologic, hepatic, and renal toxicity.”
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Picture of turtles on the beach.
Getty
The release adds that infants can get sick or even die if breastfed by a mother who has helonitoxism.
According to the National Library of Medicine, “as the pharmacology or chemistry of the toxin is still unknown, no antidote or treatment for helonitoxism is available.” As Sky News pointed out, only “supportive care” — such as intravenous fluids — can be offered.
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In 2021, the BBC reported that local authorities had banned the consumption of turtle meat after seven people, including a three-year-old, died of helonitoxicity.
The AP says a disaster management team, led by Hamza Hassan Juma, of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, has been sent to Zanzibar to encourage people to stop eating sea turtles.
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education