The child was bitten by catfish thorns during a fishing trip to Florida, confirmed Corey Dierdorff of the PIO of the Pasco County Fire Department to The Sun. The incident happened in New Port Richey. Firefighters said the boy’s mother felt short of breath as she transported the victim to a nearby hospital. After mom called 911, Pasco Fire Rescue firefighters responded and recorded the child as a trauma warning. The young victim was then airlifted to St. John’s Hospital. Joseph in Tampa. Dierdorff said the child remained in stable condition in hospital. He noted that it was unknown whether the catfish was poisonous. Pasco Fire Rescue took to Twitter to share videos of the helicopter carrying the child. Responding to another Twitter user, Pasco Fire Rescue explained: “The child was stabbed in the chest by the catfish stinger. “The sting entered the chest cavity about 1-1.5 inches and caused shortness of breath. We hope for a speedy recovery “. The young victim was then airlifted to St. John’s Hospital. Joseph in Tampa. Pasco County Fire Department Speaking to WTSP-TV, Dierdorff described the child’s condition as “very strange”. He said on the way out: “I have never heard of such a thing. “You hear about a fisherman who can be cut from a rod or hit on the back of the leg and become infected, but you have never heard of someone penetrating the chest.” Toxic catfish in North America have “relatively mild venom”. Getty Images Although it is not known if the fish that attacked the child were poisonous, a 2009 National Geographic report found that half of the more than 3,000 species of catfish were poisonous. Jeremy Wright’s study of the venom and microscopic structures of 158 species of catfish “concluded that at least 1,250 to 1,625 species of catfish are likely to be venomous,” wrote Nat Geo. Wright said North America’s toxic catfish are “relatively mildly poisonous” and some species, such as catfish, are non-venomous. He said catfish venom is only used for defense, not hunting. Nat Geo added: “When a catfish feels threatened by a larger fish, it can burst the folding backs that are usually near its sides, making its body wider and harder to swallow. “If the predator bites anyway, the sharp backs are cut in its mouth. “Meanwhile, the pressure on the spines causes them to shift to their bases, tearing the skin over adjacent venom glands. “The poison is poured out and into the wounds of the predator’s mouth.” This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.
