Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:03:24 -0400 (EDT)
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promed.isid.harvard.edu>
Subject: PRO/AH/EDR> Food poisoning, octopus, fatal - Viet Nam
FOOD POISONING, OCTOPUS, FATAL - VIET NAM
**********************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail, a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
[1]
Date: 21 Jun 2004
From: Alfonso Rodriguez <arodriguezm@SaludFMV.org>
Source: Yahoo News, UK [edited]
<http://uk.news.yahoo.com/040621/323/ewc3a.html>
Poisonous octopus leaves 2 dead, 85 hospitalized in Viet Nam
- --------------------------
2 people died and 85 others, including 42 children, needed hospital
treatment after eating poisonous octopus in a village in southern Viet Nam,
health officials said.
A man and a woman in Binh Thuan province's Tam Ngan village died on
Saturday after eating the blue-ringed octopus, while other villagers were
rushed to hospital, said a provincial health official.
They all bought the blue-ringed octopus, a very small organism with
poisonous glands, from the village market.
- --
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[2]
Date: 21 Jun 200r
From: Alfonso Rodriguez <arodriguezm@SaludFMV.org>
Source: Xinhuanet News, China [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/21/content_1538295.htm>
3 Vietnamese die from poisonous octopus
- ------------
3 people in southern Vietnamese province of Binh Thuan died, and 85 others
- -- including 42 children -- were hospitalized after eating blue-ringed
octopus on Saturday. Of the fatalities, 1 died on the way to the hospital
and 2 others at the hospital, according to local newspaper Labor on Monday.
This is the biggest poisoning case regarding blue-ringed octopuses in the
province. All of the victims showed symptoms of headache and numbness in
arms and legs.
A 25-gram blue-ringed octopus, whose scientific name is _Hapalochlaena
maculosa_, can claim 10 human lives, because it has a strong toxin known as
Tetrodotoxin.
- --
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org
[Tetrodotoxin (anhydrotetrodotoxin 4-epitetrodotoxin, tetrodonic acid) may
also be known as Pufferfish Poisoning, Tetradon Poisoning, and Fugu Poisoning
Poisoning by members of the order Tetraodotiformes is perhaps one of the
most violent -- if not the worst -- intoxication from marine species.
Tetrodotoxin is found in the gonads, liver, intestines, and skin of the
pufferfish. The toxin levels in these locations are sufficient to produce
rapid and violent death. Usually the flesh or the meat of the fish is not
toxic, provided it was not contaminated with the toxin from its own organs
during the preparation of the fish.
Tetrodotoxin has been isolated from a wide array of animal species,
including the blue-ringed octopus, starfish, parrotfish, California newt,
frogs of the genus _Atelopus_, the angelfish, and xanthid crabs.
Until recently tetrodotoxin was believed to be a metabolic product of
unspecified source within the host. No algal source had been identified.
However, recent reports of the production of
tetrodotoxin/anhydrotetrodotoxin by several bacterial species, including
strains of the family _Vibrionaceae_, _Pseudomonas_ sp., and
_Photobacterium phosphoreum_, point toward a bacterial origin for this
family of toxins. These are relatively common marine bacteria that are
often associated with marine animals. If confirmed, these findings may have
some significance in toxicoses that have been more directly related to
these bacterial species.
The 1st signs of intoxication include a slight numbness of the lips and
tongue, usually becoming evident between 20 minutes to 3 hours after
consumption of the poison. The next symptom is increasing paresthesia in
the face and extremities, which may be followed by sensations of lightness
or floating. Headache, epigastric pain, nausea, diarrhea, and/or vomiting
may occur. Occasionally, some reeling or difficulty in walking may also be
noted.
The 2nd stage of the intoxication is increasing paralysis. Many victims are
unable to move; even sitting may be difficult. Respiratory distress
increases and, as dyspnea increases, the speech is affected. The victim
usually exhibits cyanosis and hypotension. Paralysis increases and
convulsions, mental impairment, and cardiac arrhythmia may follow. The
victim, although completely paralyzed, may be conscious and in some cases
completely lucid until shortly before death. Death usually occurs within 4
to 6 hours, with a known range of about 20 minutes to 8 hours.
Supportive care is helpful, but may be of limited effect. - Mod.TG]
-- Liz Brown Marine Advisory Program University of Alaska Fairbanks PO Box 1549 Dillingham, AK 99576 907-842-1265 Fax 907-842-3202
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jun 22 2004 - 10:36:33 PDT