The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Region II has again warned residents living near the sea not to catch and eat the poisonous crab called “Devil Crab” that killed two children in Cagayan.
Mark Salazar told GMA News “24 Oras” on Monday that the crab was eaten by a family in Sta. Ana, Cagayan is the Zosimus aeneus or devil reef crab which has poison.
“Isa po siyang nakakalason na crab. Nagtataglay ito ng mga toxins, for example, neurotoxins, mayroon siya saxitoxin which is kapag nakain itong crab na ito ay talagang magdudulot po ng food poisoning,” BFAR Region II officer-in-charge Dr. Jefferson Soriano said.
(It is a poisonous crab. It contains toxins, for example, neurotoxins. It has saxitoxin. When you eat this devil crab, it will really cause food poisoning.)
“Base kasi sa sinubmit sa ating samples, maaaring itong species na ito ay naihalo doon sa mga nakuha nila so hindi nila na-identify, na-distinguish itong crab na ito which is poisonous,” he added.
(Based on the submitted samples, this species may have been mixed with those they obtained so they did not identify, distinguished this crab which is poisonous.)
BFAR warns public against eating poisonous ‘Devil Crab’
According to the official, the death of two young siblings is the second case of seafood poisoning in Sta. Ana.
“The last time is ‘yong ‘buging’ which is isang klase ng goby fish naman which is pareho lang silang nagtataglay ng lason,” said Soriano.
The devil crab is said to have killed people in just a few hours, according to BFAR.
Symptoms of poisoning in such crabs include numbness of the tongue, paralysis of the hands and feet, and difficulty breathing.
In the episode of Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho this Sunday, it was reported that after being comatose for a few days, the father of the two children who died was released from the hospital.
The father of the children, a fisherman, caught the crabs and cooked them for his family.
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