Fish eater dies after cooking deadly pufferfish given to him as present
A Brazilian man named Magno Sergio Gomes tragically died after ingesting a poisonous pufferfish that packs enough venom to kill 30 humans.
“Magno had never cleaned pufferfish before,” the deceased’s sister Myrian Gomes Lopes told Newsflash of the tragic accident, which occurred over the weekend in Aracruz, Espirito Santa, Newsflash reported.
An unnamed friend had reportedly given Magno, 46, the deadly seafood as a gift, although its exact provenance remains unclear.
Brazil is reportedly home to 20 species of pufferfish — also known as blowfish — a dozen of which live in Espirito Santa.
Despite never having handled the species before, the Brazilian and his buddy gutted the fish, removed its liver and then boiled and ate it with lemon juice.
Less than an hour later, both Magno and his friend fell seriously ill. “Magno started to feel numb in his mouth,” his distraught sister described.
Alarmed, the patient drove himself to the hospital, whereupon the numbness spread and he went into cardiac arrest for 8 minutes.
Magno was specifically suffering from the effects of tetrodotoxin, an extremely potent poison that originates in the liver and gonads of pufferfish and other marine species, the US Centers for Disease Control reported.
Used by the blowfish to deter predators, the toxin is over 1,000 times deadlier than cyanide with no known antidote.
When ingested in large quantities, it interferes with the “transmission of signals from nerves to muscles” and paralyzes the muscles, potentially leading to death.
Myrian revealed that her brother was intubated and put on life support but to no avail. Magno passed away on January 27 after spending 35 days in the hospital, during which his system was paralyzed by the toxin.
“The doctors told our family that he died from poisoning, which had quickly traveled to his head,” the bereaved relative described. “Three days after being admitted, he had several seizures, which greatly affected his brain, leaving little chance of recovery.”
Miraculously, Magno’s buddy survived, but is having trouble with his legs.
“He’s not walking very well,” Myrian said. “He was neurologically impacted, but he is recovering.”
Interestingly, raw pufferfish is considered a delicacy in Japan, where it is locally known as fugu.
Gourmands reportedly enjoy the slight buzz that comes with ingesting trace amounts of the toxin.
Due to the dish’s dangerous nature, only licensed fugu chefs are allowed to prepare it.
“We take pride in preparing blowfish safely,” declared Ueno Ken’ichirō, owner of the fugu restaurant Fuku no Seki in the Yamaguchi Prefecture.
While Japan reportedly sees around 50 poisoning incidents per year, the majority occur when amateurs try and take a stab at it, as was the case with Magno.
