Illness Is Linked to Fish Sold in Louisiana

The Centers for Disease Control reported Thursday that four Californians who became sick earlier this year had all eaten fried buffalo fish that has been traced to the same Louisiana wholesaler.

The victims all suffered from Haff disease, a painful syndrome that temporarily locks up the muscles.

Three residents of Los Angeles contracted the disease from homemade gefilte fish they prepared for a Jewish meal, said Udo Buchholz, a CDC epidemiologist based in the Los Angeles County Health Department.

Two sisters, 70 and 73 years old, became sick on March 8 and a day later, a 33-year old man who bought the fish at the same market also got sick, the CDC report said. The man’s wife ate the same meal but was not affected.

The fourth person was an 87-year-old Bakersfield man, a native of Louisiana, who had leg pains for half a year after eating the fish Aug. 8, the report said.

Two people in Missouri also contracted the illness last year, Buchholz said.

Food and Drug Administration researchers are working to isolate the toxin in the fish that caused the illness. So far, it is believed that the toxin cannot be destroyed by the heat used in cooking.

Haff disease sets in about eight hours after the fish is eaten and lasts up to three days. Scientists say the fatality rate is less than 1%.

Haff disease was first identified in the 1920s in the Baltic Sea area. Scientists have not identified the source of the illness there, but believe it is fish-related, Buchholz said.

Buffalo fish, popular in the South, resembles a carp. The freshwater fish is mostly found in the Mississippi River and its tributaries.