Warning Issued About Eating Puffer Fish

The recent poisoning of two women who almost died after eating puffer fish in a Monterey Park restaurant brought warnings from health officials Monday about the potential danger of the exotic fish.

After eating the delicacy, the women immediately developed tingling and numbness of the lips and muscle weakness, which progressed to total body paralysis, officials said.

The women, who were not identified, required artificial ventilation in an intensive care unit for two days and recovered.

Their husbands also ate the fish, but less of it. They did not get as sick and also recovered, said Arthur Tilzer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services’ Consumer Protection Bureau, Environmental Health Division.

Tilzer recommended not eating the fish, which is considered a delicacy in Japan and the Philippines. Those who do choose to eat it, Tilzer said, should make sure it comes from a certified source and is reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration.

“Unfortunately, the fish carries a powerful poison known as tetrodotoxin,” said Michael Walsh of the California Poison Control System in Sacramento.

The poison is not destroyed by cooking, he said. The fish can be eaten if prepared correctly and with meticulous care.

The powerful toxin causes disruption of nerve transmission, leading to symptoms varying from numbness of the lips to total body paralysis and death, all of which can occur within minutes, according to the poison control experts.