Four other persons who consumed the meal are reported to be in critical condition.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XI9dn4yM5UG5dzxLKktCyYMYe9wNOHjN”]The South Tongu District Chief Executive, Emmanuel Agamah, who has since convened a DISEC meeting on the issue, told Citi News there is growing panic in the village following the deaths.

“After eating Banku, they complained of stomach pains…the father of the children survived and one child, but as to exactly what happened, I’m not in the position to say because the Food and Drugs Authority came for a sample of the food yesterday [Sunday], so we are yet to ascertain whether it is a poison from someone or it was a contaminated food,” he added.

Reports indicate that officials of the FDA spent two hours in the area, and picked samples of the corn dough used in the preparation of the banku to find out what exactly caused the deaths.

The victims were said to be relatives of two separate families.

One dead, 6 others hospitalized after eating poisonous fish

In January 2018, one person died, while six others were hospitalized at Nkonya in the Volta Region  after they reportedly ate meals prepared with puffer fish, which is said to be highly poisonous.

The FDA subsequently urged residents of the area to stop eating such fish to forestall any more deaths.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This comes as a result of reported deaths due to the consumption of Puffer Fish in the Volta Region locally known as”Gedde”.

The statement said:  “Always remember, you are what you eat, and so let’s make food safety our lifestyle a collective responsibility.

Below are the 14 facts

1. Puffer fish belong to the family Tetraodontidae which are primarily marine and estuarine fish of the order Tetraodontiformes. It has an average lifespan of the puffer fish is around 10 years.
2. Other names used for familiar species in the family includes pufferfish, puffers, balloonfish, blowfish, blowies, bubblefish, swellfish, toadfish, toadies, honey toads, sugar toads, and sea squab.
3. The puffer fish has the remarkable ability to expand its body extremely quickly when faced with danger, unavailing it’s long poisonous spikes that cover its body.
4. When puffed-up, the shape more than double its original size, round and sometimes covered in spines making it much more difficult to bite and unappetizing to a predator. This behaviour isn’t a puffer’s only means of defence.
5. Pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a substance that makes them foul tasting and often lethal to its predators including humans.
6. To humans, tetrodotoxin is deadly, up to 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide.
7. There is enough toxin in one pufferfish to kill 30 adult humans, and there is no known antidote.
8. The poison tetrodotoxin is mostly found in its inner organs, especially the liver, the ovaries, eyes, and skin of the fish.
9. The poison, tetrodotoxin, is produced by the bacteria that the fish allows to colonize its various parts. Tetrodotoxin is a neurotoxin, meaning it takes out the nervous system as it moves through the body.
10. Symptoms of Pufferfish poisoning generally occur 10-45 minutes after eating fish containing the tetrodotoxin.
11. The toxin starts with the extremities and this is noticed first with the lips. Then the fingers. There’s a tingling numbness, and a loss of control. This is a sign that it’s time to get to the hospital quickly.
12. The toxin moves inwards, taking out the muscles, often causing weakness, while bringing on vomiting and diarrhoea. Then the tetrodotoxin hits the diaphragm (which is the large, muscular membrane in the chest that lets the lungs breathe in and out).
13. The respiratory system is paralyzed while the person is still fully conscious. Eventually the toxin does get to the brain, but only after the person involved has felt their body being paralyzed completely, entombing them inside. Even then, some people aren’t lucky enough to completely lose consciousness. There are people who report being conscious, either occasionally or continually, throughout their coma.
14. Some people still eat puffer fish around the world, despite it having such deadly venom. In Japan it is a delicacy and it’s called Fugu. The meat of the pufferfish is a highly prized dish that is prepared by specially trained and licensed chefs. Because of the high risk, chefs must undergo two to three years of training to obtain a Fugu-preparing license and must taste the fish each time it is prepared.

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Source: GNA

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Eric Sidu, started shaking uncontrollably moments after consuming the food and was rushed to the Kpando Margret Marquart Catholic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8AqetSJytexOVnIzJTmNTar6IwZmbSzv”]The deceased’ daughter, son, son in-law and three grandchildren, who ate the meal together with him are on admission at the hospital.

Ms. Mavis Sidu, the daughter, recounted the incident to the Biakoye District Chief Executive, Ms. Comfort Attah, on her hospital bed when she visited to find out how they were responding to treatment.

Four people from Alavanyo had died under similar circumstances in 2017, after eating food prepared with puffer fish, known locally as “Gedde”.

Don’t eat ‘poisonous’ Puffer fish – Fisheries Commission

The Fisheries Commission in August 2017 warned Ghanaians against eating any product on the market made with the Puffer fish due to its poisonous nature.

The Head of Fish Health Unit of the Fisheries Commission, Dr. Peter Ziddah in an interview with Citi News urged the public to be extra careful when it comes to the Puffer fish as it is even more poisonous than Cyanide (sodium or potassium cyanide used as a poison or in the extraction of gold and silver).

He said “what happened with regards to the puffer fish in the Volta Region is purely a public health issue. We need to warn people about what to eat and what not to eat.”

“In this case, we are talking about processing, people need to learn how to process their catches before eating. The Puffer fish is more poisonous than cyanide. You need some special skills to be able to process that fish to eat,” Dr Ziddah added.

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By: citifmonline.com with additional files from GNA

The post One dead, 6 others hospitalized after eating poisonous fish appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This follows reports from the Volta Region that four people had died after consuming the puffer fish while several others were hospitalized.

The Head of Fish Health Unit of the Fisheries Commission, Dr Peter Ziddah in an interview with Citi News urged the public to be extra careful when it comes to the Puffer fish as it is even more poisonous than Cyanide (sodium or potassium cyanide used as a poison or in the extraction of gold and silver).

[contextly_sidebar id=”xKdjTsqbjIXe2aT4qSGjbHs8ZMN8gFHE”]He also said the Commission has not given anyone the clearance to sell the puffer fish to the public.

He said “what happened with regards to the puffer fish in the Volta Region is purely a public health issue. We need to warn people about what to eat and what not to eat.”

“In this case we are talking about processing, people need to learn how to process their catches before eating. The Puffer fish is more poisonous than cyanide. You need some special skills to be able to process that fish to eat,” Dr Ziddah added.

“Like in Asia before you sell this fish you are certified, here who certifies who? We don’t certify people to sell this fish so for the public I would advise they should just go off it, not buy it at all and don’t eat it because you don’t know where it is coming from,” he stated.

Education on Poisonous Puffer to Intensify
The Food and Drugs Authority a few days ago said that it is in talks with the Ministry of Fisheries and other agencies to intensify the education on the dangers of consuming the said fish.

When he spoke to Citi News’, James Lartey, the Public Relations Officer for the Authority said the FDA officers “together with the fisheries department in the Volta Region and the Municipal Assembly embarked on an exercise where they visited a number of markets and all the markets they went to did not have any sample of that fish.”

“According to our officer, the women at the market were saying they know it to be it’s a poisonous fish so it is not a fish that is sold there. I was told they were already aware of that particular fish but there is the need for further education so I am sure when they meet, they will be able to trash all these things and strategize on communications so they will be able to better inform the people on that fish,” Mr. Lartey said.

It still remains unclear how the fish may have contributed to the said deaths, however, some residents have attributed it to the ill-preparation of the fish before consumption.

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By: Rita Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Don’t eat ‘poisonous’ Puffer fish – Fisheries Commission appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The FDA said checks in some markets in that area showed that traders avoided the puffer fish which is believed to have caused the deaths. The affected communities include Alavanyo, Kpando and Tokor.

[contextly_sidebar id=”6iSnAa7aCj7SQ9i7eGYcwXV645UY0xpY”]However, it is in talks with the Ministry of Fisheries and other agencies to intensify the education on the dangers of consuming the said fish.

Speaking to Citi News, James Lartey, the Public Relations Officer for the Authority said the FDA officers “together with the fisheries department in the Volta Region and then the Municipal Assembly embarked on an exercise where the visited a number of markets and all the markets they went to did not have any sample of that fish.”

“According to our officer, the women at the market were saying they know it to be it’s a poisonous fish so it is not a fish that is sold there.”

There will also be a meeting between the FDA, the Municipal Assembly, and some stakeholders draw a plan to create awareness.

“I was told they were already aware of that particular fish but there is the need for further education so I am sure when they meet, they will be able to trash all these things and strategize on communications so they will be able to better inform the people on that fish,” Mr. Lartey said.

Four people died at the Margret Marquart Catholic Hospital at Kpando, where they had been rushed to after eating a type of freshwater fish commonly called puffer fish, also known as balloon fish.

Three deaths were recorded two weeks ago with the latest occurring yesterday [Thursday] when four more persons were rushed to the same facility.

One of them was successfully treated and discharged while two others, a man, and his wife are still on admission.

Even though it is still unclear how the fish may have caused or contributed to the said deaths, some residents have attributed it to the ill-preparation of the fish before consumption.

They say the fish contains some poisonous substance which required proper cooking.

The Puffer fish is characteristically said to swell up when it senses danger to scare its predators. It is known among fishing communities and the folks are often warned against eating it.

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By: Felicia Osei/King Nobert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kpando: FDA to intensify education on ‘poisonous fish’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.