Disclaimer: These postings were sent to us from a variety of media sources over the Internet. The content has not been reviewed for scientific accuracy or edited in any manner.
Health warning as toxic red tide hits coast
Babalo Ndenze
March 15 2005 at 10:09AMSeveral people have become ill with paralytic shellfish poisoning after eating toxic shellfish from a massive red tide stretching from the West Coast to Cape Agulhas.
The department of environment affairs and tourism has issued a warning to the public not to eat mussels, red bait or oysters in the area affected by the red tide, as the shellfish could be highly toxic.
It said the red tide had been detected along the "entire West Coast, from Doring Baai south into False Bay, Walker Bay as far east as Cape Agulhas".
At least four people have been treated at Tygerberg Hospital for paralytic shellfish poisoning and another two people were treated at the Cape Town Medi-Clinic in Oranjezicht.
The department said the people had allegedly eaten shellfish collected from Melkbosstrand and Blouberg.
It said diarrhetic shellfish poisoning had also been reported from the Hermanus area.
"Members of the public are strongly advised not to collect or eat any mussels or other filter feeding organisms such as red bait and oysters in the affected area until further notice, as these organisms could be highly toxic and extremely dangerous," the statement said.
Reports received by the department indicated that several people had become ill with paralytic shellfish poising symptoms after allegedly eating mussels from the Melkbosstrand and Blouberg area.
Typical symptoms of paralytic shellfish poising include tingling and numbness of the mouth, lips and fingers, difficulty in breathing, accompanied by general muscular weakness and lack of co-ordination.
In severe cases it can cause paralysis.
Symptoms of diarrhetic poisoning are vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea.
The department has urged anyone who suspects they might be suffering from any of these symptoms, to consult a doctor immediately.
Grant Pitcher, a red tide expert from the department's Marine and Coastal Management, said on Monday that he knew of at least four cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning.
He had also heard unconfirmed reports of diarrhetic poisoning from Hermanus.
"The paralytic shellfish poisoning is the dangerous one," Pitcher said.
He said there had been red tide on the West Coast a few weeks ago, which had lifted, and then come back again recently.
The red tide could become very toxic overnight, he said.
For the red tide to occur inshore, calm conditions were required.
City architect Willem Otten said he was among those affected by "neuro-toxins" after having a meal of black mussels with his wife on Sunday.
"We got the black mussels off the rocks in Blouberg. "We took them, cooked them and had them for lunch and in a few hours we started feeling this tingling sensation on our fingers and joints and numbness in the mouth.
"In the end we had to spend the night in hospital," said Otten.
"It's a neurological condition and it affects the nervous system so we had to be monitored overnight.
"You can stop breathing and suffocate," said Otten.
He said he and his wife, Jean, still hadn't fully recovered.
"Even now it's not back to normal. My wife is still not well at all," said Otten.
He said the authorities should have alerted the public earlier.
"They should have warned us last week. They should do it every day with the weather and monitor the red tide on a daily basis," said Otten.
# The public can telephone 021 434 4457 to get a recorded update on the latest status of the red tide.