Elderly man dies from puffer fish poisoning in Johor few days after wife does

A Kluang resident aged 84 recently died after consuming puffer fish, just days after his wife passed for the same cause.

Bernama, the state news agency, reported that Johor Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon confirmed the deceased was the husband of an 83-year-old woman who had also died from consuming the same fish.

He said that the couple had purchased the fish from a Facebook online vendor.

The man’s wife was declared dead on Mar. 25 at 7pm, hours after eating the fish.

Ling said that their case has been classified as “food poisoning caused by puffer fish”.

“In fact, the cause of death is given as ‘food poisoning with neurological manifestation resulting in respiratory failure with cardiac dysrhythmia possibly due to ciguatera toxin or tetrodotoxin ingestion’ from the pufferfish,” he reportedly said earlier.

According to Ling, the patient had been shifted to a medical ward on Apr. 5 and was alert, exhibiting steady vital signs, albeit requiring assistance from a respirator to breathe.

Nevertheless, at approximately 5:20am on Saturday, the patient became unresponsive while the nurse was caring for another patient.

“Emergency assistance was provided immediately before he was pronounced dead at 6:20am,” Ling said in a statement on Saturday night.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the deceased’s remains had been sent to the forensic unit before being handed over to his next of kin for funeral arrangements.

Ling stated that the Johor State Health Department (JKNJ) had taken necessary action once notified of the initial incident and had performed an inquiry, tracing the sources, distributors, and retailers involved in the puffer fish sale.

“JKNJ has and will hold several discussions with the fisheries department and some local universities that have expertise in the field of fisheries and toxins or poisons to get a comprehensive solution regarding this issue,” Ling said.

He also requested Johor citizens to be “careful in choosing food, especially if it has known risks”.

Bernama also reported that Malaysia’s fisheries department director-general Adnan Hussain advised the public to avoid eating puffer fish, because “almost all types of puffer fish contain toxins that can cause poisoning if not prepared or cooked correctly”.

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