‘I thought I was going to die’: Mum paralysed by ‘poison’ seafood

A woman who went from fit and healthy to fully paralysed in about 12 hours thought she was going to die.

Baked clams on outdoor barbecue

A woman who went from fit and healthy to fully paralysed in about 12 hours thought she was going to die.

Kim Taia was later diagnosed with paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), which can happen when people eat shellfish that has consumed toxic microscopic marine algae.

Scientists are now helping the Maori community to take testing for the toxin into their own hands to make sure what happened to Taia is not repeated, the New Zealand Heraldreports.

At an event in the New Zealand town of Maketū, where Taia spoke at, scientists gifted a rapid testing kit to allow the community to test for the toxin themselves.

Taia has since made a full recovery and is sharing her story for the first time to raise awareness of the risks of eating shellfish.

In the summer of 2014, Taia collected pipi from Little Waihi Beach and returned home to Rotoiti to eat them.

Kim Taia is raising awareness on the dangers of eating shellfish after becoming paralysed in 2014.

Within about 30 minutes of eating them, her lips started tingling.

“From that, it progressed quite quickly affecting my face. My head started to become numb and I was feeling dizzy. I couldn’t speak clearly,” she said.

“I was wondering what was wrong I was going dizzy and had tunnel vision.”

Taia compared the feeling to an anaesthetic injection at the dentist but affecting her whole head.

Her son called an ambulance and they started driving to town when they spotted one. Paramedics checked her and they couldn’t find anything wrong.

“I started losing feeling in my hands and arms,” she said.

At the hospital, the cause was no clearer so Taia went home to rest.

“Come the morning I was completely paralysed from my head to toes. I woke up and couldn’t move. It was scary not knowing what was wrong,” she said.

“I don’t have a medical history I’m not a sick person I was in fear about what was going on.”

Taia said back at the hospital doctors were still puzzled.

“We were there a few hours and I was getting weaker and weaker. My breathing was slowing down and I thought I was going to die. I couldn’t breathe, I became panicked by not having any diagnosis for what it was.”

Taia said she was diagnosed when an orderly came by to ask if she wanted any food and her family said Taia had not eaten since the night before when she had pipis.

“That alerted them. They realised it was the pipi causing PSP,” she said.

PSP is one of the main types of shellfish poisoning and happens when shellfish consume toxic microscopic marine algae.

The toxins are odourless, tasteless and not destroyed by cooking and can build up in the shellfish and make them poisonous.

A pipi harvest with Te Arawa Ki Tai Trust whānau at Little Waihi. Picture: NZ Herald

If this toxic alga is present in mussel farms or estuaries all the shellfish there will contain the toxin.

It can affect mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles, scallops, cat’s eyes, kina (sea urchin) and all other bivalve shellfish.

Taia was put on a drip to flush out the toxin and oxygen to help her breathe. She made a full recovery.

“I was in there for four nights. It was long, draining process,” she said.

“I went from someone active and fit to completely paralysed.”

Taia said she did not consider the pipi was the cause because her family had been eating them for so long.

Signs warning against collecting pipi were in place but Taia said despite warning signs in place at popular shellfishing spots she believed Māori would continue to collect them because it was traditional.

“Shellfish has been with our people for generations,” she said.

Taia said she decided to tell her story at a recent event and with NZME because she did not feel there was awareness of PSP in the community.

She is grateful she was the first person to eat the pipi because she had planned to share them with an elderly kuia nearby the next day.

It took a while for Taia to go back to eating shellfish but she does now.

Nelson-based Cawthron Institute scientists last week gifted a rapid testing kit to allow the community to test for the toxin themselves.

The kit was made by United States company Neogen but calibrated and set up for the community by Cawthron. The institute also donated and developed a manual for the community.

The test involves taking a shellfish sample and using a dipstick that indicates if PSP is present.

Tim Harwood at the Maketū wānanga. Picture: NZ Herald

Tim Harwood, a research scientist at Cawthron Institute, said this could give the community “peace of mind”.

He said algae were a “really important part of the ecosystem” but consuming any that were toxic could cause diarrhoea, amnesia and, in the case of PSP, paralysis and – worst-case scenario – death.

Harwood said marine toxins were well-monitored and regulated in New Zealand and PSP cases were rare but a risk.

”It’s well-monitored but there are rare occurrences where people get sick. It’s those we want to pick up on and use this tool to prevent,” Harwood said.

He said the event had opened doors to run similar sessions with groups in Tauranga Moana and with Ngāti Kuri north of Auckland.

Māori environmental organisation Te Arawa Ki Tai helped organise the meeting and chairwoman Raewyn Bennett said they invited people from around the region including students from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ruamata.

Bennett said Little Waihī Estuary was known for the toxin so the organisation wanted to stay on top of research and be prepared.

”Little Waihī is a spot traditionally Te Arawa come from the lakes to get their kaimoana. We still want these customs to happen and as kaitiaki it’s our job to make sure it’s safe for others.”

Māori environmental organisation Te Arawa Ki Tai chairwoman Raewyn Bennett. Picture: NZ Herald

Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Phil Shoemack said Toi Te Ora has had 45 notifications of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in the past 10 years.

This was made up of 29 in 2012 and 13 in 2014 (the two outbreaks) plus a few other random incidents.

Shoemack said he recommended people take steps to avoid toxic shellfish poisoning by checking the Ministry for Primary Industries website for updates and current warnings about areas of coastline affected, take note of warning signs and seek medical attention if they experienced symptoms.

”Every time there is a toxic bloom detected there is a risk of becoming sick from eating affected shellfish due to the effects of the toxin on the nervous system. In severe instances, the toxin can have an impact on breathing. Milder symptoms include numbness and tingling around the mouth and fingers.”

There is no current ban on collecting shellfish in the Bay of Plenty.

Symptoms and what to do

Symptoms of PSP usually appear within 10 minutes to three hours of eating and may include numbness and tingling around the mouth, face, and extremities, difficulty swallowing or breathing, dizziness and headache, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea and paralysis and respiratory failure and in severe cases, death.

If someone gets sick after eating shellfish phone Healthline on 0800 61 11 16 or get medical help immediately, advise your nearest public health unit and keep any leftover shellfish in case it can be tested.

Source: Ministry of Primary Industries

This article was originally published by the New Zealand Herald and has been reproduced with permission.