Mozambique: Nine die in Niassa from eating poisonous tuber – Watch

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Nine die in Niassa from eating poisonous tuber – Watch

12:29 CAT | 24 Apr 2018

TVM

Nine members of the same family have died of food poisoning at the administrative post of Etatara, Cuamba district, in Niassa.

The District Service for Health, Women and Social Action (SDSMAS) says the deaths resulted from eating a tuber known locally as ‘malave’, which may have been confused with a similar tuber called ‘mole’, which is a regular part of the diet in that area.

SDAMAS director Simão Naueha said that a team of Health Department and National Criminal Investigation Service experts had been sent to investigate the situation.

Six of the nine died instantly and two others lost their lives on the way to Cuamba Rural Hospital. The remaining individual died while under medical care. Three further members of the same family, who also consumed the tuber, were out of danger after being admitted to hospital.

Naueha said that the two tubers were similar, and drew attention to the need to determine the nature of any product before consuming it in order to avoid a similar scenario in future.

He also noted that similar incident had occurred in 2016 in the same district, costing the lives of an unspecified number of people, also members of the same family.