Almost a dozen people in Brazil were hospitalized after mistakenly eating a poisonous pufferfish, but all have since recovered, Business Insider reported on Monday.
Severe symptoms, including cardiac arrest and respiratory failure, were seen in three patients. Pufferfish contains a strong neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, and though no one died in this instance, eating the fish can kill humans.
A group of 22 people got together for lunch in a South Atlantic coastal town in Brazil in October. The man who caught the fish threw out another, bigger pufferfish from his loot, but smaller ones went unnoticed.
The pufferfish ended up with other fish in the catch and was eventually prepared for lunch, which the group ate.
"A lady cleaned the fish, prepared and cooked the fillets, unaware that the small pufferfish remained between the fish sent by a relative," said Dr. Vidal Haddad Junior, an associate professor of dermatology at SãoPaulo State University.
After less than a half hour, 11 people started to feel "pins and needles" sensations in their mouths. These symptoms quickly turned to muscle problems, nausea and vomiting, according to Opposing Views.
"My husband was the first to say he couldn't feel his tongue, then his face, and then his arms. Then his legs went dead and he couldn't stand up any more. It was terrifying," Cristiane Souza said, and added that her husband was first to feel the poison's effects.
Pufferfish is a delicacy where cooks are almost risking their diner's lives by serving the sea creature. Chefs must pass three years of special training and receive a certificate before they can prepare the dish in Japan.
