Several members of one family in Ashashuni upazila of Satkhira fell ill after eating puffer fish, and one of them, a grocer named Azharul Islam, 37, died under treatment. His eight-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter and 60-year-old mother are in hospital. The incident happened on Monday in Bardal village.

Residents said Azharul, who ran a grocery at Bardal Bazar, bought the fish at the market on Monday afternoon and took it home. Soon after the meal he and his son Ramim began vomiting; his daughter Swarnali and his mother Rashida then fell ill as well. His wife had not eaten the fish.

Azharul was taken in a critical condition to a private hospital in Satkhira, where he died. His body was brought back to the village on Tuesday, and his cousins and uncles are arranging the burial.

Rehena Khatun, the woman member for the reserved ward of Bardal union parishad, said several locals had warned the family off the fish, but Azharul had replied that nothing would happen. His father died long ago, she said; his mother is a widow and his two children are small. He was the family's only earner, and his death has left them destitute.

Ajoy Kumar Saha, assistant director of Satkhira Medical College Hospital, said puffer fish contain an extremely powerful natural toxin that can do serious harm to the human body, and advised people not to eat it.

Puffer fish turn up in coastal district markets and poisoning cases are not new; the death is a reminder of how much market-level vigilance and food-safety awareness are still needed.

Source: Prothom Alo