9, including 8 children die after consuming turtle meat on remote African Island
Source: News9live
Author: Mani Raj
Pemba Island: In a tragic incident reported from the remote Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, 9 people including 8 children died after consuming turtle meat. Reports said that another 78 people had to be hospitalised after having the meal. The incident happened on March 5.
Sea turtle meat is considered to be a delicacy in this part of the world but is known to cause food poisoning. The taste of the meat is similar to beef and its texture comes very close to squid or alligator meat.
Autopsy conducted on the bodies confirmed that all of them had consumed the turtle meat, said experts. In some cases, the turtle meat can cause food poisoning, also known as chelonitoxism. Even though the exact cause of why these turtles cause this kind of poisoning is not known, it is believed that it is due to the algae which these animals eat.
Chelonitoxism, experts say, is rare and can only be caused by consuming marine turtles. Initially the symptoms include gastrointestinal discomfort among the victims, which later progresses to "neurologic, hepatic and renal toxicity", say experts. Studies have also shown that the whole turtle is toxic. Initial symptoms among people who consume the meat include nausea and vomiting, which later progress to neurological disorders, coma and ultimately death.
Following this incident the authorities have sent a disaster management team to Pemba Island. This team is responsible for making people aware about the dangers of consuming turtle meat and would urge them to desist from eating the same.
A similar incident had killed 7 people on the same Island in 2021. BBC said that the poisonous meat affects the children and the elderly the most easily. More importantly this is not the only place where turtle-meat poisoning has killed people, but similar incidents have been reported from Indonesia, Micronesia and India's Indian Ocean Islands. There is no medicine to treat this poison, said experts.
