Identification of strange snails causing poisoning and death in Khanh Hoa



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On the afternoon of September 15, Mr. Le Tan Phung, Deputy Director of Khanh Hoa Health Department, said that the Institute of Oceanography has identified 30 species of snails that caused food poisoning to 3 people in Van Ninh district as 1 person. death, 2 critical persons to whom the Department of Health sent samples. In which 29 individuals are serrated mud snail (Nassarius papillosus) and 1 individual is the ball snail (Nassarius glande).

By analysis, determined in the two types of snails, the content of Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is very high, 21.7 – 77.7 times higher than the permitted limit. Eating just 5-10 individuals of the above snails is estimated to be enough to cause fatal poisoning in normal people. Tetrodotoxin is a known neurotoxin in many marine pufferfish species in Vietnam.

Khanh Hoa: Identification of strange snails that cause poisoning, causing 3 casualties - Photo 1.

Van Phong Bay in the Van Ninh district is home to a wide variety of serrated and polished mud snails.

Khanh Hoa: Identification of strange snails that cause poisoning, causing 3 casualties - Photo 2.

Toothed mud snail and shiny mud

Tetrodotoxin attacks the central nervous system of humans and higher animals. Symptoms of intoxication usually appear between 20 and 60 minutes after eating include: numbness of the lips, numbness of the tongue, dizziness, headache, vomiting, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, imbalance of movements, seizures, foam. edge … in severe cases, the victim may die from paralysis of the respiratory muscles.

Tetrodotoxin is heat stable, resistant to acids and does not decompose at high temperatures. Determining the source of toxins is quite complicated.

Khanh Hoa: Identification of strange snails that cause poisoning, causing 3 deaths - Photo 3.

Two types of snails cause 1 death and 2 critically in Van Ninh district, Khanh Hoa province – Institute of Oceanography photo

“To avoid harm to human life and health, absolutely do not eat foreign species of sea snails whose food safety has not been verified,” recommended Mr. Phung.

Before that, on the morning of September 11, a group of 3 fishermen in the Van Ninh district included: Nguyen Van T. (23, Van Gia City); Ho Van N. (21, Van Thanh Commune) and Tran Quoc T. (22, Van Khanh Commune) went sea fishing in Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province, and went diving to catch a bag of unknown snails. After that, this group of fishermen stopped on Khai Luong Island, Van Thanh Commune, to give a family acquaintance half the bag of snails. The remaining snails, 3 steamed fishermen to eat at 4:00 p.m. the same day.

After eating, they have numbness of the lips, arms, legs, dizziness, nausea, and headache. At 7 pm, the fisherman Nguyen Van T. was taken to the emergency room, but died earlier. The other two were transferred to Khanh Hoa Provincial General Hospital for further treatment.



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