New Delhi: An 83-year-old woman died and her husband slipped into coma after eating a puffer fish in Malaysia, New York Post reported.
According to the report, the elderly couple’s daughter said the man had bought the fish from a local shop and didn’t check the quality since he had been buying from the same shop for a long time.
“My parents have been buying fish from the same fishmonger for many years, so my father did not think twice about it. He would not have knowingly bought something so deadly to eat and put their lives in danger,” New York Post quoted their daughter, Ng Ai Lee, as saying.
According to the report, after having the fish for lunch, the woman, identified as Lim Siew Guan, began to shiver and experience breathing difficulties. Her husband also started showing similar symptoms about an hour later.
Their son rushed the couple to hospital, where the woman was declared dead. Her husband, who is in coma, is undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
As per Newsweek, the cause of death is given as “food poisoning with neurological manifestation resulting in respiratory failure with cardiac dysrhythmia possibly due to ciguatera toxin or tetrodotoxin ingestion.”
"I am prepared for the worst because the doctor told us that even if he is able to pull through the ordeal, he might not be the same any more, due to his old age," their daughter said.
As per the report, all fish sold on that date has been taken by the District Health Office (PDK) for analysis.
It is to be noted that puffer fish, which is a popular delicacy in Japan, may contain the potent and deadly toxins tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin, that cannot be destroyed even by cooking or freezing. Usually, only highly qualified chefs, who have been trained in how to remove these toxins, are allowed to serve the fish.