Nine people have fallen victim to a poisonous delicacy in Zanzibar. Eight children and one adult have died after eating turtle meat.
Eight children and an adult woman have died after eating sea turtle meat on the island of Pemba in East Africa’s Zanzibar archipelago. 78 more people were killed, according to a report by NBC News taken to a hospital. A doctor confirmed to Associated Pressthat all the deceased had eaten sea turtle meat.
Tanzania authorities sent a disaster response team to Zanizbar. This asked people there to stop eating sea turtle meat.
Despite poisoning: turtle meat is considered a delicacy in Zanzibar
The people of Zanzibar consider sea turtle meat a delicacy. However, deaths from chelonitoxism, a type of food poisoning, occur again and again. When eating the meat, there is initially an unpleasant feeling in the mouth and throat area. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sweating and dizziness may also occur later. Neurological complaints are also possible several days later. Important organs can then stop working and, in the worst case, multi-organ failure occurs and the person affected dies.
There is no antidote. Doctors can only relieve the symptoms. Children as well as older people and people with previous illnesses are particularly at risk.
How exactly chelonitoxin poisoning occurs is not yet entirely clear. It is believed that it occurs when sea turtles have previously consumed certain microorganisms. These could be so-called cyanobacteria, which can be found on seaweed, among other things. The bacteria themselves develop a dangerous poison, the so-called Lyngbyatoxin, which the turtles then possibly metabolize into chelonitoxin.
Eating turtle meat is prohibited in Tanzania
Sea turtles are threatened with extinction. That is why it is now forbidden to catch and eat the animals in Tanzania due to species protection. Nevertheless, they still end up on the plate. Already in November 2021, seven people died on Pemba, including a three-year-old, after eating turtle meat. Three other people were taken to hospital at that time.