Brazilian man dies after eating poisonous puffer fish

Puffer fish is a popular Japanese delicacy. (representative picture)

A Brazilian man died after eating a poisonous pufferfish that contained enough venom to kill 30 people, Le Monde reported. new york post. Magno Sergio Gomes, 46, was given the fish by an unidentified friend, but its exact origins are unclear. His sister, Myrian Gomes Lopes, said the incident happened over the weekend in Aracruz, Espírito Santo state, and that “Magno had never cleaned up a puffer fish before.” .

The man and his friend had never handled the fish before, but they cut it open, removed the liver, boiled it and ate it with lemon juice. Within an hour, both began to feel ill.
“Magno started to feel numbness in his mouth,” Ms Lopez said.
The 46-year-old drove himself to the hospital and found that “numbness spread and he went into cardiac arrest for eight minutes.”

Magno is particularly affected by tetrodotoxin, an extremely potent toxin found in the livers and gonads of puffer fish and other marine animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The toxin, which puffer fish use to deter predators, is nearly 1,000 times more lethal than cyanide and has no known treatment. When consumed in large doses, it blocks “the transmission of signals from nerves to muscles,” paralyzing the muscles and possibly causing death.

Ms. Lopez said her brother needed life support. However, after 35 days in the hospital, Magno’s system was paralyzed by the toxin and he died on January 27. “Doctors told our family that he died from poisoning that quickly spread to his head. Three days after being admitted, he suffered multiple seizures that greatly affected his brain and left him with little chance of recovery,” she says.

Although his friend survived the horrific incident, he suffered from problems with his legs. Ms Lopez added: “He’s not walking well. His nerves have been affected but he’s recovering.”