Kpando Assembly Bans Killer Fish

Sale of the mysterious and poisonous fish that has purportedly caused the death of five people at Kpando in the Volta Region has been banned.

The death of the five has created fear and anxiety among the people from the Gbefi and Alavanyo communities where the deceased hailed from. Although the actual cause of their death is yet to be officially ascertained, preliminary assessment has suggested that they died through food poisoning after allegedly consuming the puffer fish.

So far, out of 26 people who were on admission at the Margaret Marquart Catholic Hospital at Kpando, five have reportedly lost their lives while the others continue to receive treatment.

The temporary ban of the sale of the puffer fish, locally called 'gede,' was effected by the Kpando Municipal Assembly. The decision was arrived at last Friday after an emergency meeting of the municipality's Public Health Committee.

A portion of a statement signed by the Municipal Chief Executive, Elvis Djampoe, reads, “To prevent further deaths, the committee has decided to temporarily ban the sale of the puffer fish in any form, either fresh, smoked or salted, until further notice. The police have been notified and offenders will be dealt with accordingly.”

About Puffer Fish 
Many people initially could not tell what kind of fish it was. However, the Deputy Volta Regional Director of Fisheries, Grace Boamah, has confirmed the name of the fish as puffer.

Expensive Delicacy 
It is said that the fish is an expensive delicacy in Tokyo that is served in many restaurants in that country and other Asian countries. As a result of the expensive nature the fish – known in the Asian as 'fugu,' it is usually reportedly consumed by wealthy people.

DAILY GUIDE's monitoring of social media has also suggested that the fish is actually eaten in some parts of Ghana, but requires a special skill in removing the poisonous part before it is prepared for consumption.

Joy FM’s Manasseh Azure indicated on his Facebook wall that “Growing up in Kete- Krachi (in the Volta Region), we called this fish 'lentempui.' It seems to have some poisonous substance somewhere. You don’t eat it if you don’t know how to get rid of that poison. It is largely forbidden.”

The puffer fish derives its name from its ability to swell up (puff) when it senses danger to scare its imminent predators. Characteristically they have four teeth fused together like a beak.

Eugene Addo, Volta Regional Director, Food and Drugs Authority, had told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the said fish has “neurotoxin,” which could collapse one's nervous system. The fish is presumed to have a bacteria fauna in its intestinal tract as the source of the toxin.

Symptoms Of Puffer Poisoning
According to an online directory on poisonous fishes, the first symptoms occur within 10-45 minutess of eating the fish, with numbness and prickly sensation all over the body, tingling around the mouth, followed by excessive salivation, dizziness, nausea and vomiting and difficulty in breathing. The Symptoms could progress to paralysis, respiratory failure, coma and death.

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Gibril Abdul Razak and Fred Duodu, Ho