THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A suspected marine toxin scare has gripped the state capital with around 32 people reportedly seeking medical treatment and one person remaining critical at the Thiruvananthapuram medical college hospital after eating ‘vatta’ (trevally) fish. The condition of 40-year-old Sudheer, a resident of Varkala, remains critical, said a food safety official.
On Thursday, around six people took treatment following discomfort after consuming vatta bought from fish markets in Varkala and the Muthalapozhi harbour.
The incident came to light after several people reportedly developed symptoms after eating vatta purchased during the recent ‘chakara’, when the large catch led to a sharp fall in prices and increased consumption.
Fresh cases continued to be reported on Friday, raising alarm. “A total of 32 people took treatment complaining of discomfort on Thursday and Friday.
Except for one person, all other affected parties are stable and back home. We have collected the remaining portion of the fish reportedly eaten by the patient from his house.
We also inspected markets in Varkala and collected samples of similar fish. A whole fish was collected from Perumathura harbour as well. All the samples have been sent to CIFT in Kochi for testing,” said Kavitha Raj, food safety officer, Varkala.
The adjacent panchayats and the Varkala municipality have issued warnings against consuming the fish. The food safety department authorities have advised people to avoid eating the internal organs of the fish as a precaution until the test results are available.
Varkala MLA V Joy said swift action was taken following the reporting of the incident. “Since the fish was available at a low price during the chakara, many people bought it, took it home and ate it. We mobilised the police and health squads to inspect roadside sales points. The inspections were conducted by health inspectors of municipalities and panchayats, and several vendors discarded the fish,” the MLA said, adding the situation is under control.
The incident has also exposed a gap in the facilities to identify marine toxins, forcing officials to depend on CIFT in Kochi for testing.
“Had there been a fisheries laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram, we could have tested the fish immediately. Transporting samples to Ernakulam takes time. Our food safety laboratory does not have the facility to identify marine toxins. This is a drawback,” a food safety official said.
Ciguatera fish poisoning a possibility, says Kufos V-C
“Ciguatera fish poisoning is a possibility in the Varkala incident, but we cannot confirm it without lab tests,” said A Biju Kumar, vice chancellor, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS).
“The toxin is colourless, odourless and tasteless, and cooking does not destroy it. Interestingly, even when several people consume fish from the same meal, only some may fall sick because the toxin is not uniformly distributed in the fish and the quantity consumed varies.
We need to identify the fish species and test for ciguatoxin to establish the actual cause,” he said. Biju also emphasised thatpeople should avoid eating the head, liver, viscera and roe of vatta. “We need a systematic surveillance mechanism to monitor toxin producing microorganisms in marine habitats and test high risk fish species at landing centres and markets,” he said
