The Centre for Health Protection said on Monday that the 42-year-old woman had experienced hypersalivation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting and drowsiness about an hour after eating the honey on Sunday. She later visited Kwong Wah Hospital’s accident and emergency department and was treated for low blood pressure and an abnormally slow heart rate. A spokesman for the centre said the woman was in a stable condition.
Mad honey is typically dark red in colour and mainly produced by bees that ingest the nectar of certain poisonous plants in Turkey and Nepal. The substance is also used in traditional medicine or taken recreationally. Initial inquiries found that the honey was brought to Hong Kong from Nepal by a friend of the patient, with her symptoms potentially caused by grayanotoxins, a type of neurotoxin that can affect the nerves and muscles, he said.
“Grayanotoxins [are] derived from plants belonging to the Ericaceae family, including rhododendrons,” he explained, adding that other symptoms included diarrhoea, excessive perspiration and abnormal skin sensations. Authorities reported at least two similar cases. The separate incidents involved two men, aged 35 and 50, who suffered from dizziness and vomiting after ingesting suspected mad honey from Nepal in June.
A 49-year-old man developed similar symptoms in November of last year after eating honey mailed to Hong Kong by a friend in the country. The centre urged the public to take precautions such as buying such goods from reliable sources or apiary and to throw away any honey with a bitter or astringent taste. It added that products which contained grayanotoxins could cause a burning sensation in the throat.
The centre said special attention should also be paid to honey bought from India, Nepal and Turkey’s Black Sea region, as such goods had been linked to past cases of grayanotoxin poisoning. While Hong Kong does not specifically control the import of mad honey, the substance is banned in countries such as South Korea and Australia. Family doctor Lam Wing-wo said instances of poisoning involving grayanotoxins were treated more seriously than typical food poisoning cases, as patients’ nervous systems were affected.
“Treatment is likely to involve supportive care in hospital to stabilise the patient’s vital signs and bodily functions,” he said. “Some medications such as atropine may also be used.” He added that a number of past cases appeared to have involved people bringing back souvenirs from their travels, a practice that was difficult to regulate.
.
