Malaysia: No eating shellfish in Sabah due to toxic red tide

Kristy Inus New Straits Times 7 Jun 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Fisheries Department today warned the public to refrain from eating shellfish due to the high toxin level caused by the red tide phenomenon.
Sabah Fisheries Department director Rayner Stuel Galid said the level collected from the samples here was around 700 Mouse Unit (MU), where the lowest limit considered as dangerous for humans is 400 MU.

The red tide phenomenon traced at Sabah's west coast waters since late last year, is expected to continue for another month.

"While it has reduced from over 1,000 MU previously, it is still poisonous level and the health warning issued before this stays.

"We remind the people not to disregard this due to the health risks that could lead to fatality ... So please refrain from collecting and eating shellfish," he said.

Rayner added that the unpredictable weather between hot and wet spells is one of the contributing factors that the phenomenon lasted so long, as the algea related to the toxic thrive in this condition.

"We expect it to end by July but that depends on the weather. The monitoring will be done all year long to detect the toxin level," he added.

Earlier this year, three people in Sepanggar and Inanam died from red tide poisoning after eating cockles collected from Sepanggar Bay waters.

Symptoms of shellfish poisoning due to red tide include tingling of the lips and tongue, depending on the severity of the poisoning.

The symptoms may progress to a sensation of ‘prickling of pins and needles’ and then loss of control of arms and legs, followed by breathing difficulty.