Authorities reported on Saturday that eight children and one adult passed away from consuming sea turtle meat on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago. An additional 78 individuals were hospitalized due to the same incident.
In Zanzibar, sea turtle meat is highly valued as a rare and luxurious food. However, consuming it can sometimes lead to fatalities due to chelonitoxism, a form of food poisoning.
According to the Mkoani district medical officer, Dr Haji Bakari, the woman who passed away on Friday was the parent of one of the children who died earlier. Dr Bakari also mentioned that the turtle meat was eaten on Tuesday.
Bakari informed the Associated Press that lab examinations had verified that all the casualties had consumed sea turtle meat.
Officials from Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous area within Tanzania in East Africa, directed a team in charge of managing disasters to advise the public against consuming sea turtles.
In Pemba in November 2021, a total of seven individuals, including a child who was three years old, passed away after consuming turtle meat. Additionally, three others required medical treatment.
Source: theguardian.com
