Tanzania: 3 children die after consuming sea turtle meat, 22 people hospitalised

Three children lost ir lives after consuming sea turtle flesh on Pemba Island in Tanzania's Zanzibar. On vember 27, police reported that all of children who died belonged to  same family. According to Juma Sadi, regional police chief for Pemba rth, 22 additional individuals have been brought to hospitals after eating sea turtle flesh on Friday, Xinhua reported.  

police added that samples of sea turtle flesh have been delivered to appropriate authorities for testing to examine cause of fatalities. "Two of people admitted to hospital are children and y are in critical condition," Juma Sadi was quoted by Xinhua as saying. He furr highlighted that sea turtle flesh is suspected of being poisous.  

19 die after consuming sea turtle meat in Madagascar

Furrmore, in ar East African island country, re are accounts of fatalities after consuming sea turtles. Earlier in month of March of this year, approximately 19 people had died after eating sea turtle meat in Madagascar. 

As per News2sea website, authorities at  Vatomandry hospital in Antananarivo's east district informed that 10 out of 34 people who were taken to hospital with food poisoning after consuming sea turtle flesh died. In a statement released by goverrship, it was said that nine children perished at ir house after eating meat of same sea turtle, which or people had consumed.  

Algae kwn to poison seafood between vember and March 

Explaining cause of toxicity, website furr reported that, Algae on seafloor are kwn to discharge deadly poisons between months of vember to March when nation's temperatures rise and during se months, sea turtles, as well as over 20 kinds of fishes, feast on toxic algae at bottom of seafloor. Furr, poisons in plants eventually seep into flesh of organisms that consume m. It has potential to be lethal if eaten. 

Despite warnings from officials that se species should t be ingested during this time, many individuals, particularly those living in coastal regions, disregard cautions due to nutritional concerns, News2sea reported.  

Sea turtles also kwn as marine turtles are reptiles that belong to order Testudines. It is worth ting that re are seven types of sea turtle species that exist in marine bed, which include green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, Kemp's ridley sea turtles, olive ridley sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles, flatback sea turtles, and learback sea turtles. According to  National Center for Biotechlogy Information research, all kinds of marine turtles have potential to be poisous. 

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