KOTA KINABALU: There has been no new report of death of axotoxin poisoning, the main
component of red tide.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin in disclosing this said the number
of case remained at 46.
“As of today, 14 people have been discharged from hospitals, with the remaining nine still
warded, namely three at the Women and Children’s Hospital (WCH) in Likas, four patients at
Queen Elizabeth Hospital 2 (QEH2) and QEH 1 (two).
“Of the number of patients, two are under observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the
WCH,” she said, adding that there was no truth in the rumours of four deaths due to axotoxin
poisoning, as posted on Facebook.
With most of the cases reported in Inanam, Rosnah said the Fisheries Department was
currently analysing shellfish samples from the night market there.
“We have also conducted health talks at high-risk locations, and to date, 14,324 have
attended the programme,” she said, adding that warnings had also been distributed through
posters and pamphlets.
The red tide warning was first issued by Fisheries Department on Dec 12, last year.
In the most serious case of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) this season, Sabah Fisheries
Department director Rayner Stuel Galid said the victims had all purchased cockles and
bivalves from street peddlers at the Inanam market.
He said the red tide warning was still in place and urged the public to avoid consuming all
types of marine shellfish or bivalves.
These include sea oysters, mussels, cockles, bivalves and any type of clam-like seafood.
Beginning late November, the department detected a high amount of PSP toxins in samples
of bivalves obtained from the west coast through its red tide monitoring programme.
Among the initial symptoms include tingling lips and tongue, a sensation of the ‘pins and
needles’ on the skin, followed by loss of control of arms and legs, and difficulty in breathing
that could result in death.
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