An 83-year-old woman in Malaysia died, and her husband is battling for his life in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after they ate a puffer fish last week, without knowing it contained deadly toxins, New York Post reported citing local media.
The couple's daughter, Ng Ai Lee, said her father purchased the puffer fish - a delicacy known to contain extremely potent poisons - from a local shop on March 25. “My parents have been buying fish from the same fishmonger for many years, so my father did not think twice about it,” Lee said.
"He would not have knowingly bought something so deadly to eat and put their lives in danger," she added.
As soon as the duo ate the fish for lunch, the woman identified as Lim Siew Guan, began to shiver and experience breathing difficulties. About an hour later, her husband also showed the same symptoms.
The couple's son then rushed them to the hospital, and were halfway through the journey when their mother was pronounced dead. “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 puffer fish,” Johor's health and unity committee chairman, Ling Tian Soon said.
Speaking to the media outlet, the couple's daughter said her father is in a coma in the intensive care unit. "I am prepared for the worst because the doctor told us that even if he is able to pull through the ordeal, he might not be the same any more, due to his old age," she added.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, the popular Japanese dish puffer fish may contain the deadly toxins tetrodotoxin and saxitoxin, which cannot be removed through cooking or freezing. The fish is often only served by highly skilled chefs who have received training in how to destroy these toxins.
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