Number 11 Christine Fensome In September of 2016, ten days after her wedding,
English woman Christine Fensome and her partner were honeymooning in Mexico. During the trip,
the 54-year-old had a grouper fish dinner which made her severely ill. Her condition rapidly
deteriorated and Fensome suffered a fatal heart attack. Her death was subsequently attributed
to ciguatera fish poisoning. Symptoms include numbness, weakness, vomiting,
diarrhea, and, in rare cases like Fensome’s, heart complications. In recent years, ciguatoxin has
reportedly become more prevalent in reefs around the world, including in the Gulf of Mexico, due to
global warming. It’s originally made by a marine organism called Gambierdiscus toxicus, which
grows on and around coral reefs. The organisms are consumed by herbivorous fish which then fall prey
to larger carnivores, like grouper, barracuda, sturgeon or sea bass. By moving up the food chain,
the toxins become more concentrated. Number 10 Family Pufferfish Poisoning
In 2019, two residents of Probolinggo, in East Java, died and two others fell violently ill
following severe pufferfish poisoning. Baidowi, his wife Suhaina, and their sons had caught and
prepared the fish. While considered a delicacy in some cultures, these animals are among the
most poisonous vertebrates in the world. The liver and skin may contain tetrodotoxin,
which is roughly 1,200 times more toxic to humans than cyanide and which doesn’t have an antidote.
In Japan the pufferfish-based dish is called “fugu” and chefs train for years
in learning how to prepare it. According to one of the younger members, their family had eaten
the same species before without any health complications. On February the 8th, however,
they started feeling nauseous, dizzy and their throats felt warm. They were taken to a health
center where the parents were pronounced dead while their sons received supportive treatment.
Number 9 Jeanette LeBlanc In September of 2017, Texas woman Jeanette LeBlanc
was visiting family in Louisiana. While there, she went crabbing and also bought a bag of raw oysters
from a market in Westwego. LeBlanc and her friend reportedly ate about two dozen oysters together.
Roughly two days later, LeBlanc had trouble breathing and a rash on her legs.
The 55-year-old woman thought it to be an allergic reaction but she’d actually contracted
flesh-eating bacteria and developed a condition called vibriosis. It’s caused by Vibrio bacteria
which can come from contaminated shellfish or enter the body through an open wound,
in brackish water or saltwater. It’s particularly dangerous for people with
compromised immune systems and, in severe cases, may result in limb amputation or death.
LeBlanc gradually became worse as the infection wrought havoc on her legs.
The woman would spend the next 21 days fighting for her life, until she ultimately succumbed to
the disease in mid-October. Number 8 Wanthana Phutcho
In spite of their common name, horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions
than they are to crustaceans. Some of the crab species are poisonous while others are safe to
eat, therefore, misidentification can produce tragic results. 46-year-old Wanthana Phutcho,
from Phuket, Thailand, had collected over a dozen horseshoe crabs from a forest mangrove.
She believed them to be a harmless variation, but they were actually Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda,
which often contain lethal tetradotoxin. After Phutcho grilled and ate a crab,
she vomited and couldn’t walk straight. As her mother took her to the hospital,
the woman’s condition worsened. An ambulance was called which intercepted them but, in spite of the
emergency responders’ CPR attempts, Phutcho was pronounced dead. Hers wasn’t an isolated case and,
in the past, the Thai Ministry of Public Health had warned that consuming mangrove horseshoe
crabs can be deadly. Number 7 Wang
In 2020, a Chinese man, only identified as Wang, suffered horrific health complications which
doctors believed were a result of his exotic food preferences. Wang’s diet often included crayfish,
live river snails and raw seafood. On one occasion, he even ate a raw snake gallbladder.
For months the man had trouble breathing. He went to a hospital in Suqian, in eastern
China’s Jiangsu Province. It was there that a CT scan revealed that his lungs were riddled
with worms. The condition, called paragonimiasis, is caused by a parasitic flatworm commonly known
as the lung fluke. It’s a food-borne illness that can last for years with symptoms resembling those
of pneumonia or stomach flu. Doctors immediately began treatment in an effort to rid Wang of the
worm infestation in his lungs. Number 6 Kevin Davis
In November of 2018, a Jamaican teenager lost his life as a result of “acute ackee
poisoning ”. Shortly after leaving his home, 19-year-old truck driver Kevin Davis had breakfast
at a restaurant. It consisted of corn pork and ackee, an exotic fruit from the soapberry family.
The national fruit of Jamaica, ackee is among the country’s most popular food items. The arils,
which are the outgrowths that cover the seeds, have been described as a delicacy
when ripe and properly cooked. However, parts of the fruit that aren’t ripe contain toxins
called hypoglycin A and hypoglycin B. They’re the primary cause of Jamaican vomiting sickness, an
acute condition that’s potentially deadly. Davis collapsed almost immediately after eating his
breakfast and was pronounced dead at the scene. His grieving mother suspected that the teenager
might’ve been intentionally poisoned since the onset of symptoms was so sudden and violent.
Number 5 Dead from Live Octopus In South Korea, eating live octopus is
considered a delicacy but there’s also a serious choking hazard that comes with the practice.
Younger octopi are consumed whole while larger ones are cut up and their still-moving tentacles
are ingested. Since the suction cups on the limbs are still active, pieces can get lodged in a
person’s throat. In April of 2010, a man, only identified as Kim, checked into an Incheon City
motel with his girlfriend, after buying two live octopi. The woman, named Yoon, stopped breathing
after eating one of the animals. She was rushed to a hospital, where she died 16 days later. While
initially considered an accident the case was also investigated as a potential murder, at the behest
of the victim’s family. Yoon had reportedly taken out a life insurance policy, prior to her death,
of an estimated $190,000, with Kim as the sole beneficiary. The case made it to South Korea’s
Supreme Court, where Kim was eventually acquitted. Number 4 Bullfrog Poisoning
In March of 2017, an unnamed man from South Korea died after eating a poisonous toad.
The 57-year-old was part of a group of men who’d caught five amphibians, near the city of Daejeon.
A few days later, the men cooked and ate them at a restaurant. After the meal, the victim started
vomiting and was rushed to a hospital. In spite of supportive treatment attempts, he suffered
fatal cardiac arrest the following morning. The others in the group reported similar symptoms
but they survived. Police submitted leftovers of the dish to a laboratory for analysis.
They found that it contained traces of bufotenin, a psychoactive compound that is typically found
in toad toxin. The poisonous amphibians look similar to bullfrogs, which is how the tragic
misidentification had occurred. Bufotenin, which is also found in mushrooms and some plants,
is related to other psychedelics, like psilocin and DMT. While in some circles
it’s sought-after for its psychoactive effect, the man had unknowingly consumed a lethal dose.
Number 3 Hand Amputation
In August of 2018, an elderly South Korean man had his hand amputated after developing a
severe infection from a raw seafood dish. 12 hours after the meal, the 71-year-old’s hand had become
horribly swollen and caused him excruciating pain. Doctors were able to drain the blisters and excise
the infected tissue, after which the man was prescribed antibiotics. The treatment failed
in combating the disease and necrotizing ulcers started forming on the man’s hand. The damage was
extensive and the infection was still spreading so doctors had no choice but to amputate the limb.
By consuming raw seafood the man had contracted the flesh-eating bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. The
time elapsed between the moment he’d consumed the dish and the amputation was only 25 days.
Today's topic was requested by Guerrila Warfare, Timur Güner and Dana Ripley. If you have any other
topics you'd like to learn about, subscribe & let us know in the comments section below.
Number 2 Raw Marmot Plague In the spring of 2019, a small
town on the border between Russia and Mongolia was quarantined following a disease outbreak.
A couple had consumed the raw marmot innards, which they believed would have beneficial health
effects. They ate the animal’s gallbladder, kidney and stomach. Before long the couple, who were both
in their late 30s, fell violently ill. The man succumbed to multiple organ failure within a week.
The woman started vomiting blood and suffered excruciating headaches. She died in the hospital
from toxic shock. Their deaths would later be attributed to septicemic plague. It’s among the
plague variations that were part of the Black Death, which wrought havoc on Europe during the
14th century, killing millions of people. Officials decided to quarantine the town
due to suspicions that the victims had actually developed pneumonic plague, the most severe form
of the disease and the only one that can spread from person to person. Roughly 118 people,
believed to have had contact with the couple were isolated and given antibiotics. Others in
the town, with a population of about 1,300, had their movements limited and most remained inside
for fear of catching the disease. The lockdown was lifted after no new cases of plague emerged.
Number 1 Unnamed South Korean Man In August of 2019, a South Korean man passed away
after he choked on an octopus dish. The 71-year-old was at a seafood restaurant and
had ordered a meal that involved chopping up and seasoning the animal’s tentacles. In the summer
months, the dish is considered a stamina booster in South Korea. The tentacles were, however,
still wriggling when the man started eating them. The suckers blocked his air ways and he
immediately started signaling to those around him that he had trouble breathing. Restaurant staff
called the emergency services but, unfortunately, they arrived too late to save the man’s life.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather eat pufferfish that wasn’t prepared by a trained chef
or give up all your favorite food for a year? Let us know in the comments section below!