According to sources, on Thursday (18) at least 19 people, including nine children, died after eating the flesh of a sea turtle.
Since Monday, thirty people have been hospitalized in Watamandi, east of the island. Ten of them died, the Food and Health Safety Control Agency said, without specifying whether there were children among the dead.
The dead include nine children, who died at home after eating the meat of the same turtle, the region’s governor said.
Big Island health officials strongly urged him not to consume species of turtles and 24 other marine animals during the summer season.
These species feed on algae, which are toxic to those who consume their meat, from November to March.
About 50 families are drunk every year in the coastal areas of Madagascar and frequent deaths occur.
Eight people died of poisoning in the north of the country in January 2018, and eight others in the previous month.
