Africa's 'Special Delicacy' Sea Turtle Consumption Causes 9 Deaths and 78 Hospitalizations: The Cause

In the autonomous region of Zanzibar in Tanzania, Africa, dozens of villagers who ate sea turtle meat have died or been hospitalized.

On the 9th (local time), according to the AP news agency, local authorities reported that on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, 8 children and 1 adult who ate sea turtle meat died, and 78 people were hospitalized. The adult who died was the mother of one of the deceased children.

원본보기 아이콘

Autopsy results confirmed that all the deceased had eaten sea turtle meat on the 5th. Sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy in Zanzibar but can cause food poisoning known as chelonitoxism.

Chelonitoxism causes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, and can lead to brain edema and liver necrosis, which in severe cases can result in death. Currently, there is no antidote to treat this illness, and the best approach is symptomatic treatment to alleviate symptoms and prevent loss of life.

This food poisoning is especially fatal to children and the elderly, and even healthy adults can collapse. In November 2021, 7 people, including a 3-year-old child, died after eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island. At that time, 35 people with similar symptoms were hospitalized and later discharged.

Additionally, in March of the same year, 19 people died after eating sea turtles in Madagascar. Among them, 9 were children.

The exact cause of the food poisoning has not been fully clarified, but it is presumed that toxic substances from poisonous algae or jellyfish consumed by the turtles accumulated in their bodies.

Sea turtles are omnivores and indiscriminately eat fish eggs of young fish, mollusks, jellyfish, small invertebrates, small fish, insects, sponges, seaweed, and crustaceans. Among these, jellyfish are known to be a staple food for sea turtles.

Zanzibar authorities dispatched disaster management teams to the site and urged residents not to eat sea turtles. However, island residents usually enjoy eating sea turtle meat and have been found not to properly follow the authorities' ban.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.