One Dead, 43 Hospitalized After 'strange' Outbreak On Koh Lanta

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One dead, 43 hospitalized after 'strange' outbreak on Koh Lanta

Phuket Gazette

PHUKET BREAKING NEWS: -- Officials on Koh Lanta in Krabi province are investigating the cause of an outbreak that has been blamed for one death so far, and has left 43 other villagers in hospital.

Despite initial concerns the villagers had contracted hand, foot and mouth disease, officials are investigating whether it was a sick turtle that the villagers had eaten that caused a mass poisoning.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle19421.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-11-12

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Koh Lanta officials blame turtle soup for 'strange' outbreak

Phuket Gazette

Koh Lanta sea gypsy Boontin Changnum holds the remains of a hawksbill turtle that he and 10 families ate, which is now being blamed for a mass poisoning of 43 villagers. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

PHUKET: -- Officials on Koh Lanta believe a sick hawksbill sea turtle was the cause of a mass poisoning that may have contributed to the death of a 61-year-old man and resulted in 43 other villagers being admitted to hospital.

“Many people in the Urak Lawoi sea gypsy village on Koh Lanta Yai fell ill with an affliction that produced symptoms similar to hand, foot and mouth disease,” Koh Lanta District Chief Suriyan Narongkul told the Phuket Gazette.

The villagers were admitted to Koh Lanta Hospital for suffering from sore throats, nausea and diarrhea, he added.

Local villager Boontin Changnum, 44, explained to the Gazette that he found a turtle weighing 30 kilograms caught in a fishing net just offshore.

“I brought it home and cut it up to share with 10 families in the village, but immediately after eating it my whole family had sore throats, like we had swallowed sand,” he explained.

“We all went to see the doctor at the hospital. We felt better after taking some medicine, but everyone still has a sore throat after almost a month,” Mr Boontin said.

Mr Boontin’s father-in-law, 61-year-old Wat Thalaylurk, suffered more than any other family member.

“His symptoms were like mine, but he was also vomiting blood. We took him to Koh Lanta Hospital, but he died last Thursday,” Mr Boontin said.

“The doctor at the hospital reported that congenital diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and gastritis, might have contributed to his cause of death,” he added.

District Chief Suriyan said he had ordered staff from Koh Lanta Hospital, the District Public Health Office and the Koh Lanta District Fisheries Office to investigate the cause of the mass poisoning.

“The villagers are feeling better now and Mr Wat died from the range of congenital diseases he was suffering, not from eating the turtle,” he said.

“The villagers ate a hawksbill sea turtle, which is a protected species, but they didn’t know that,” Chief Suriyan explained.

“In this case, we believe the turtle ate toxic plankton or toxic jellyfish before it was caught in the net and then taken home and eaten by the villagers,” he added.

“We told the villagers that the turtle is a protected species,” Chief Suriyan

If anyone finds a rare sea animal, they can report it to the Koh Lanta District Office, he added.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle19425.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-11-13

[pain666]

-- Oh look, big critically endangered turtle.

-- Gotta eat it, before they all disappeared!

Hope they consider this the payback from the gods.

[limbos]

-- Oh look, big critically endangered turtle.

-- Gotta eat it, before they all disappeared!

Hope they consider this the payback from the gods.

Pain, with all due respect, I seriously doubt these gypsies have the faintest clue about endangered species, who should have told them> besides that fact, they have been eating turtles for as long as they remember, it's not due tot hem that turtles are extinct! The problems are deffo somewhere else.

[MILT]

-- Oh look, big critically endangered turtle.

-- Gotta eat it, before they all disappeared!

Hope they consider this the payback from the gods.

Uh?

[JulesMad]

Hahaha, Som Nam Na

Turtle's Revenge (I am on the side of the turtle )

[laislica]

Local villager Boontin Changnum, 44, explained to the Gazette that he found a turtle weighing 30 kilograms caught in a fishing net just offshore.

Could this mean that the turtle was dead, and could have been so for quite some time?

If so, it may explain the poisoning as a result of bacterial action in a dead animal?

[carmine]

Hahaha, Som Nam Na

Turtle's Revenge (I am on the side of the turtle )

A person has died and this is the response! What a truely dispicable post

[laislica]

Hahaha, Som Nam Na

Turtle's Revenge (I am on the side of the turtle )

A person has died and this is the response! What a truely dispicable post

I did not like the post at all and I usually ignore such posts.

To make a comment, in some way, gives them some power.

What you resist - persists.

Ignore them and, maybe, eventually they will refrain from such posts.

I feel sad and shame for the poster and trust that they will see the error of their ways.

(but this is TVF so I'm not holding my breath)

[ManInSurat]

I've (unwittingly) tried turtle curry or Kapap Naam Kaeng Pet.

Even without being bad or off, it's utterly disgusting. Turtle meat is very very gristly and rubbery and not nice in any way. It's not that dissimilar to alligator/crocodile.

They make the curry (similar to Kaeng Som) as hot as they can to mask the horrible meat in it.

Taken from Sunrise Divers "All 7 species of sea turtle are classified under CITES as endangered, and are in need of protection."

The Thais don't actively seek them, as far as I know, the don't go fishing with the intention of only catching turtles, they get caught in nets intended for other marine fauna

They are definitely a delicacy and it's not surprising 10 families from Sang Ga U shared it. I have no idea why it's a delicacy, but often these "delicacy" dishes are the most repugnant things I can think of putting in my mouth.

It's very sad and even a Thai would say the widespread illness in this case is when kam, whether or not people have died. I don't think it's funny either, but there is something karmic about this.

Edited November 24, 2012 by ManInSurat

[Spoonman]