Eight children and a woman died from turtle meat poisoning (4 photos)

In Tanzania, eight children and a woman have died after eating turtle meat, and dozens of people have been hospitalized. Despite the known danger of food poisoning, turtle meat is considered a delicacy.





At least 87 people were poisoned by a dangerous food on the island of Pemba, part of the Zanzibar archipelago, Tanzania.

The woman who died Friday was the mother of one of the children killed.



According to doctor Haji Bakari, laboratory tests confirmed that sea turtle meat was the cause of the poisoning.

In November 2021, a similar incident occurred on the island where seven people, including a three-year-old child, died after eating the delicacy.





Sea turtle meat can cause a fatal form of food poisoning called chelonitoxicism. The kidneys, liver, and central nervous system are affected. Nursing mothers pass the toxin to their babies. A report from the US National Institutes of Health details cases in Micronesia and Madagascar in which infants died.

Zanzibar authorities have urged residents not to eat sea turtle meat.