Mystery fish attacks boys' penises as they bathe
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Two young boys were badly injured after being bitten by a fish that attacked their penises while they were bathing in Kenh Giua River in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, Vietnam.
The attacks happened in separate incidents, but in both instances the boys were bathing naked.
In the first attack on August 5, seven-year-old Nguyen Huu Thien was bathing with a group of other children when adults heard him cry out and saw him trying to remove something from his penis. They ran to his rescue and on seeing his injuries, rushed him to hospital. It's thought that he may have lost most of his penis in the attack.
The second incident occurred on August 9 and involved four-year-old Nguyen Hoan Hao who is reported to have had half of his penis almost severed. A spokesman from the Thap Muoi District Hospital said that surgeons were trying to re-attach both the boys' penises. At the time of the report, the boys were still in hospital.
There are also reports that a third child has been attacked, but there are no further details except that the youngster involved has since been discharged from hospital.
The species of fish responsible hasn't been positively identified. Local people seem to think it may be an escaped White pomfret, which is a popular food fish — but a spokesperson for the Dong Thap Fisheries Department said that the culprits are probably blowfish (pufferfish), which will attack anything that enters their territory when they are breeding. The Mekong puffer (Tetraodon suvatti) pictured above can be particularly aggressive, for example.
Authorities of Tan Kieu Commune have now launched a hunt for the fish involved and nets are being used to search the river, but so far the culprit has eluded them.
In the first attack on August 5, seven-year-old Nguyen Huu Thien was bathing with a group of other children when adults heard him cry out and saw him trying to remove something from his penis. They ran to his rescue and on seeing his injuries, rushed him to hospital. It's thought that he may have lost most of his penis in the attack.
The second incident occurred on August 9 and involved four-year-old Nguyen Hoan Hao who is reported to have had half of his penis almost severed. A spokesman from the Thap Muoi District Hospital said that surgeons were trying to re-attach both the boys' penises. At the time of the report, the boys were still in hospital.
There are also reports that a third child has been attacked, but there are no further details except that the youngster involved has since been discharged from hospital.
The species of fish responsible hasn't been positively identified. Local people seem to think it may be an escaped White pomfret, which is a popular food fish — but a spokesperson for the Dong Thap Fisheries Department said that the culprits are probably blowfish (pufferfish), which will attack anything that enters their territory when they are breeding. The Mekong puffer (Tetraodon suvatti) pictured above can be particularly aggressive, for example.
Authorities of Tan Kieu Commune have now launched a hunt for the fish involved and nets are being used to search the river, but so far the culprit has eluded them.
Local residents have been advised not allow their children bathe naked in rivers and canals.
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Published: Practical Fishkeeping Tuesday 14 August 2012, 10:56 pm
Views: 793 times
Filed under: fish attack penis penises bitten Vietnam Mekongpuffer blowfish mystery river
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