Family 'nearly dies' from deadly toxin after cleaning out fish tank

Some coral varieties release the potentially fatal toxin when threatened

Family poisoned after cleaning out fish tank (Stock)

A family nearly died after they were exposed to the world’s second-deadliest toxin while cleaning out their fish tank.

Katie Stevenson, 34, and her husband Mark from Newport, Telford, were scrubbing the coral in their tank when they began to experience symptoms including sore throats and shivers, from the toxins released by the coral.

After Stevenson's temperature rose to 42C, the family called an ambulance. The couple, as well as three of their four children, were taken to the hospital by paramedics wearing masks, where they were then put into isolation for 48.

The illness was caused by a poison called palytoxin, which is released by coral when it feels threatened.

“It was terrifying,” Stevenson told the Shropshire Star. “The paramedics who came to get me were wearing masks. The whole A&E was isolated. They told us if we’d gone to sleep, we wouldn’t have woken up.”

Stevenson and her husband were in the hospital for a week, while their children were discharged the day after.

After the incident, the family’s home was closed off for two days by a hazardous response team, as well as the fire department and police.

Stevenson now wants others to know of the potential dangers coral can pose.

According to Stevenson, they had decided to clean the tank because the family’s fish had died when they went away on vacation.

“We bought the coral and didn’t have a clue - they don’t give you any danger leaflets or anything like that,” she said. “You should be told about the toxins so you can know what you’re touching and how to clean it.”

According to the mum, the coral was part of an ornamental coral bridge £50 that had usually been submerged underwater with the fish.

Cases of palytoxin poisoning are rare, with this incident believed to be one of the only recorded cases in the UK.

According to a 2011 study from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), most corals found in stores were non-toxic or weakly toxic, but the study did find some home aquarium stores sell coral that is capable of producing the toxin.