Released Gas Family Life-Toxic Poisoned By Aquarium Cleaning

Purification of aquarium releases palytoxin

If you own an aquarium, you probably know the problem: an aquarium looks very nice, but also does a lot of work. Just a regular cleaning requires a lot of time and effort. The fact that cleaning an aquarium can also lead to poisoning and possibly even death of those affected should be new to most people. But a British man has poisoned himself, his family members and four firefighters by cleaning his aquarium and put him in mortal danger.

Chris Matthews, a 27-year-old Briton, just wanted to clean his aquarium. He poisoned himself, his family, two dogs and four firefighters. Chris scraped on a coral-covered rock while cleaning, triggering the release of toxic fumes. At first, the process went unnoticed, but the next day, Chris, his girlfriend, his mother, his father, sister, and boyfriend all fell ill with flu-like symptoms. Even the dogs of the family suffered from shortness of breath, cough and fever. The symptoms have been as bad as with pneumonia, Chris Matthews reports, according to Fox News. Chris got scared that his family could be poisoned, he called the emergency call and the family was taken to hospital. This was followed by a large-scale emergency response, where the road was closed to the public and a police blockade was established.

The cleaning of an aquarium led to a dangerous poisoning. This had the consequence that the entire family had to be hospitalized. (Image: VanHope / fotolia.com)

Purification of coral released deadly substance Palytoxin

When cleaning, Chris cleans a coral-studded rock. He accidentally released the deadly substance palytoxin. After the completed cleaning Chris went to sleep. The following day, the whole family suffered flu-like symptoms, and even their two dogs fell ill. Chris suffered from shortness of breath, coughing and fever. During the day, his mother, sister, and boyfriend also fell ill to varying degrees. The inhaled toxic fumes forced all family members to go to hospital. Even the dogs had to be treated after inhaling the poison.

Four firefighters were also poisoned

Four firefighters, who were first on site, were later hospitalized as well. They were released after a while together with three family members. The other members of the family were kept overnight in the hospital for blood tests.

Another night in the poisoned house could have led to death

The symptoms were worse than flu, and family members were unable to concentrate on anything, Chris explains. The temperature rose and the members of the family had problems breathing and suffered from severe coughing. The family woke up the next morning and felt dizzy. As a result, they assumed that they had the flu. When the two dogs developed similar symptoms, the family members noticed that something was wrong. If the family spent another night in their bedroom, it would probably have been life threatening.

What is palytoxin??

The situation is very disturbing - because what could have happened if a small child or an elderly person had been in the house. The house was ventilated for one night, while specially trained Oxfordshire Fire Department employees worked with Public Health England to remove the remainder of the coral. These had released so-called palytoxin. Palytoxin can lead to rhabdomyolysis, which triggers the disintegration of skeletal muscle. In other words, the content of muscle cells, e.g. Potassium and calcium, myoglobin, as well as other proteins are released into the blood plasma. The poison can cause a bitter and metallic taste, causing abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, paresthesia, bradycardia, kidney failure, sensory disturbances, muscle cramps, tremor myalgia, cyanosis, and respiratory distress. In the end, it can even lead to the death of the patient. (As)