Two more poisoning cases from pickled fish in Quang Nam

On July 26, the Quang Nam Department of Health announced that two more cases of food poisoning had occurred in the area related to pickled fish dishes made by local people.

The first poisoning incident occurred in Village 2 (Phuoc Chanh Commune, Phuoc Son District). Accordingly, on July 21, Mr. Ho Van Nguyen (36 years old, residing in Village 2) had lunch with his wife, Ms. Ho Thi Hia (24 years old) and two friends at his rented room in Son Tra District (Da Nang City).

After lunch, at 7 p.m. the same day, Ms. Hia began vomiting, had difficulty breathing, and had difficulty defecating and was taken to Son Tra District Medical Center. On July 24, after the disease did not improve and became more severe, the patient had difficulty breathing, blurred vision, and abdominal distension, so she was transferred to Da Nang General Hospital.

Another person who was poisoned was Mr. Ho Van Deo (22 years old). After eating with Mr. Nguyen and his wife in Da Nang, on the morning of July 22, he vomited many times, felt tired, had a headache, sore throat, was dizzy, and could not eat or drink.

After that, he was taken by his friend from Da Nang to Phuoc Son district to Phuoc Son district Medical Center for treatment. Here he was diagnosed with food poisoning and gastritis. On July 24, the patient was tired, had poor appetite, blurred vision, and a distended abdomen. He was transferred to the Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital of Quang Nam for treatment until now.

According to initial investigation, the cause of the poisoning was lunch with fish that Mr. Nguyen caught himself at Nuoc My stream (in Phuoc Chanh commune, Phuoc Son district), fermented himself and some other dishes.

The second poisoning case was a 14-year-old member of a family of 7 in village 4 (Phuoc Chanh commune, Phuoc Son district, Quang Nam). The family’s lunch on July 23 included a mixed fish dish (sardines, perch, white fish) caught and fermented at the Nuoc My stream.

By the evening of the same day, Ho Van Q. (a family member) complained of a headache, nausea, vomiting 5 times, dizziness, and fatigue. On July 24, Q. could not eat or drink, felt nauseous, and vomited, so he was taken to the Emergency Department of the District Medical Center and then transferred to the Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital of Quang Nam for monitoring and treatment. The remaining family members had no unusual symptoms.

Previously, in March 2023, in Phuoc Son district, there were 10 cases of poisoning due to eating pickled fish. The poisoning caused 1 death and many people were hospitalized. After the incident, Cho Ray Hospital sent leading experts in anti-poisoning and resuscitation to Quang Nam. The team of experts brought 5 bottles of Botulinum antitoxin (very rare) from the hospital to the Northern Mountainous Region General Hospital of Quang Nam to support the treatment of the patient.

According to Health and Life