Illness tied to toxic fish?
A spiked pufferfish.
A North Side woman is improving after being hospitalized with possible pufferfish poisoning, authorities said Friday. U.S. regulators warned consumers Thursday not to buy or eat imported fish labeled as monkfish because it may in fact be toxic pufferfish.
On May 9 or 10, the woman ate soup containing fish labeled as monkfish and was hospitalized, said Dr. Susan Gerber, a medical director at the Chicago Department of Public Health. Gerber said a man who shared the soup didn’t require hospitalization and the woman was improving. No other cases of the poisoning were reported in the area.
Pufferfish contain a potent toxin called tetrodotoxin. Initial signs of tetrodotoxin poisoning occur from 30 minutes to several hours after consumption, according to the Food and Drug Administration. FDA spokeswoman Cathy McDermott said the first symptoms are tingling of the lip, tongue and face. Headache, nausea and vomiting and, in some cases, paralysis and death may follow.
The fish was imported by Hong Chang Corp., based in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., and has been recalled.
This article originally appeared in Chicago Sun-Times.
