Nine children dead after eating sea turtle meat while on holiday
Sea turtle meat is a delicacy in Zanzibar
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Eight children have died after eating sea turtle meat while on holiday.
The group of tourists, which also included a woman, were eating a rare delicacy whilst on holiday in Zanzibar.
Scientists and forensic investigators said the delicacy is known to cause a type of food poisoning known as chelonitoxism.
The tourists were on Pemba Island, which is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, in Tanzania.
A disaster management team has been sent to Pemba Island
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The meat is said to taste like beef with a texture that can be roughly compared to squid or alligator. Officers in Tanzania said that a further 78 people were hospitalised after consuming the meat.
It was also announced that the adult who died after the meal was the mother of one of the children who had already lost their life earlier last week.
Medical officer for Mkonai District Dr Haji Bakari said that laboratory tests conducted confirmed all casualties had eaten sea turtle meat. Dr Bakari added that the meat was consumed on March 5.
Zanzibar authorities have now urged tourists and residents not to eat the meat, sending a disaster management team to the region.
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Sea turtle meat is seen as a delicacy
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It is disputed how chelonitoxism is caused but according to the Turtle Foundation charity, it is thought to be linked to turtles eating poisonous algae.
In 2021, seven people, including a three-year-old died on Pemba island after eating poisonous turtle meat.
Cases of chelontoxism have also been reported in Indonesia, Micronesia and in India’s Indian Ocean islands.
Symptoms of chelonitoxism vary from case to case but tend to include nausea, vomiting and ulceration in the throat and mouth.
In severe cases, patients can be affected by muscular weakness, partial paralysis and agitation, with some falling into a coma.
It was not clear what species of sea turtle was eaten in Zanzibar, linked to the deaths.
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