Four die in Alavanyo after eating ‘strange’ fish

Four people have died in Alavanyo in the Volta region while others have been hospitalized after eating what residents describe as strange kind of fish.

The fish which looks like a puffer fish is known by the local people as “Gedde [in Ewe].”

The Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital, in Kpando where the victims were rushed to has attributed the deaths to food poisoning.

Three more people are said to be receiving treatment at the Hospital.

Similar cases were reported two weeks ago after residents reportedly ate the same kind of fish.

The Hospital Administrator, Emmanuel Hanson Torde, told Citi News that although the Food and Drugs Authority has been informed about the development, the hospital has also sent samples of the alleged “poisonous fish” to the Kpando Divisional Police Command for further investigations.

“In all the two communities where the people died, we have the samples but I cannot state categorically that it was as a result of the consumption of the fish until further investigation has been done. But I can state that we've lost four people as a result of eating the fish. Doctors diagnoses said it was due to food poisoning.”

“It is not a common fish on the market. What the residents told me was that when the fish is captured in the river and hit with a stick, it expands. It is not a normal fish that is sold on the market,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Authority is said to be investigating the matter.

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By: Zoe Abu Baido/citifmonline.com/Ghana