Taiwanese dies from eating toads, five injured

The man from eastern Taiwan's Hualien County mistook poisonous central Formosan toads for frogs

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/17
By: Sophia Yang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer\

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man living in eastern Taiwan's Hualien County died from poisoning after eating central Formosan toads that he and his friends mistook for frogs.

Hualien Tzu Chi Medical Center notified local health authorities earlier this month they suspected the man died from poisoning. On Tuesday (Dec. 17), the Hualien Bureau of Health confirmed the group of six living in Fengbin Township had eaten the poisonous toads.

Bureau Director-General Chu Chia-hsiang (朱家祥) said health experts found a chemical in the leftovers of the meal. The chemical, bufotenin, is commonly found in central Formosan toads (Bufo bankorensis).    [FULL  STORY]