ZAMBOANGA CITY, 23 September 2004 — Two people had died and five were taken to hospital after eating a puffer fish in the southern Philippines, police said yesterday.
Police said the two Bong Sugabo, 22, and Teodoro Sumagdang, 67, succumbed to poisoning and died. Five other victims were still in hospital yesterday in Sibutad town outside Zamboanga City, a day after feasting on the poisonous fish in the village of Calubid.
Puffer fish, also known as fugu, balloon fish, blowfish, globefish, swellfish or toadfish, are considered to be a delicacy in Japan and the Philippines, and can be eaten if the fish is prepared correctly and with meticulous care.
In Japan, puffer fish cooks are specially trained and licensed. Even with these precautions, several deaths occur in Japan each year after eating the puffer fish. Its liver contains the poison tetrodotoxin, for which there is no known antidote.
Japan has licensed puffer cooks at finer restaurants who are specially trained in preparing the fish safely for human consumption.
Those who have eaten the fish will show initial symptoms, such as numbness in the lips, tongue, face and fingers, as well as vomiting and diarrhea.
In serious cases, victims could be paralyzed or suffer from cardiac dysfunction, doctors say.
