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. 2011 Sep;85(3):498-503.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0629.

Social ecological analysis of an outbreak of pufferfish egg poisoning in a coastal area of Bangladesh

M Saiful Islam  1 , Stephen P Luby, Mahmudur Rahman, Shahana Parveen, Nusrat Homaira, Nur Har Begum, A K M Dawlat Khan, Rebeca Sultana, Shammi Akhter, Emily S Gurley
Affiliations

Social ecological analysis of an outbreak of pufferfish egg poisoning in a coastal area of Bangladesh

M Saiful Islam et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2011 Sep.

Abstract

Recurrent outbreaks of marine pufferfish poisoning in Bangladesh highlight the need to understand the context in which the outbreaks occurred. In a recent outbreak investigation, a multidisciplinary team conducted a mixed-method study to identify the demography and clinical manifestation of the victims and to explore different uses of pufferfish, and local buying, selling, and processing practices. The outbreak primarily affected a low income household where an elderly woman collected and cooked pufferfish egg curry. Nine persons consumed the curry, and symptoms developed in 6 (67%) of these persons. Symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, paresis, and tingling sensation; 2 (22%) persons died. The unstable income of the affected family, food crisis, and the public disposal of unsafe pufferfish byproducts all contributed to the outbreak. A multi-level intervention should be developed and disseminated with the participation of target communities to discourage unsafe discarding of pufferfish scraps and to improve the community knowledge about the risk of consuming pufferfish.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: None of the authors have any conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Relationships between persons who cooked and persons who ate pufferfish eggs during the outbreak and their age, Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Social ecological framework of pufferfish egg poisoning outbreak 2008, Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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