TETRODOTOXIC POISONING FROM INGESTION OF A PORCUPINE FISH (DIODON HYSTRIX) IN PAPUA-NEW-GUINEA - NERVE-CONDUCTION STUDIES

Near Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, three of four adult family memb ers who ate a porcupine fish (Diodon hystrix) were severely poisoned. Within one hour of the meal, both the mother and her older daughter ha d developed paraesthesiae, ataxia, hypersalivation, sweating, and had collapsed and died. The younger daughter developed similar symptoms wi th progressive paralysis requiring mechanical ventilation for 24 hr, b ut she made a complete recovery IO days after the poisoning. In this p atient, nerve conduction studies showed reduced sensory and motor cond uction velocities and evoked amplitudes with gradual improvement in pa rallel with the patient's clinical condition, consistent with the know n action of tetrodotoxin on voltage-gated sodium channels.