Woman racks up nearly $8,000 in medical bills after getting food poisoning from marinated seafood bought online
A hearty feast on some raw marinated seafood turned awry when one woman found herself in hospital for the next two days, racking up medical expenses totalling nearly $8,000.
The woman, surnamed Wu, told Shin Min Daily News that she had chanced upon an online shop's advertisement on social media and was drawn by the appealing photos.
Enticed by the pictures, Wu, a raw seafood lover, purchased a variety of seafood from the store, including crab, shrimp, scallops as well as salmon sashimi.
The entire order cost her $172 in total.
The 29-year-old engineer revealed she was subsequently refunded $56 for the salmon sashimi after the seller informed her that the refrigerator storing the fish was malfunctioning.
Despite the minor hiccup, her order was delivered on time at around 7pm that same day.
Wu and four other friends consumed the raw seafood that night, but things took a turn the next day.
"After having breakfast the next morning, I suddenly started vomiting and experiencing diarrhoea," recounted Wu.
As her symptoms persisted, and she had no choice but to seek treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital and was hospitalised for two days.
Laboratory tests identified Vibrio bacteria in her stool. The Vibrio vulnificus bacterium lives in warm seawater and can cause food poisoning if one eats raw or undercooked shellfish.
One of Wu's friends also experienced diarrhoea and fever the next day while the other three had no symptoms, according to the Chinese daily.
Wu shared that she also suffered food poisoning two years ago after consuming sashimi at a restaurant. She added that she really enjoys raw seafood, and thus decided to order it again.
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Although Wu has since recovered from the infection, her two-day stint at the hospital reportedly cost her almost $8,000.
Till today, however, she revealed that still feels bloated and uncomfortable and has to be careful about what she eats.
Despite this harrowing experience, Wu said that she remains undeterred and would be willing to try raw seafood again after waiting a few months.
Staff will inform customers to be careful
Worried that other customers might face the same situation as her, Wu contacted the seller and requested them to temporarily pause sales or inform customers to be careful.
According to her, the seller responded four days later and issued a full refund for her order.
When contacted by Shin Min, the shop's representative surnamed Sun confirmed that they refunded Wu.
Sun said the shop immediately contacted other customers who purchased seafood on the same day as Wu after learning of her condition, but no issues were reported.
The seafood seller also added that Wu mentioned in her messages that her bout of food poisoning may be due to bad luck.
Checks by the Chinese daily found that the shop's advertisements on social media include a disclaimer informing customers to exercise caution before purchasing as raw marinated seafood may not be suitable for everyone.
Buyers are also advised to purchase small quantities if it's their first time eating raw seafood, according to the disclaimer.
Sun shared that his staff will also inform customers of the disclaimer to prevent such situations.
"We will once again emphasise to customers not to consume too much raw seafood as it may lead to health problems," said Sun.
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lim.kewei@asiaone.com
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