Nearly 70 people died and over 150 more were hospitalized after they drank a beer allegedly laced with crocodile bile.
Bloomberg News reported that dozens of people drank the beverage after a funeral over the weekend in the village of Chitima. Now, authorities have become concerned that some of the 196 patients being treated could also die from the tainted beer.
“We fear that the number of deaths will still increase as many people are still coming to hospital with diarrhea and muscular pains, the principle symptoms,” said Paula Sales, health director in Tete province.
Officials also said that crocodile poisoning is not uncommon in the country.
The Associated Press, the agency which first picked up the story, noted that according to some African traditions, when a crocodile dies its bile must be removed immediately. That process should be done in front of witnesses to ensure that it does not end up in the hands of someone who may use it as a poison.
The first fatalities in the village were the owner of a stand that sold the traditional beer and several of her family members.
The beer in question is known as Pombe or Phombe and is a fermented mix of sorghum, bran, corn, and sugar.
Health officials have not been able to confirm if the beer was in fact contaminated with reptile bile, but will determine what caused the deaths after they receive data back from collected samples.