A popular social media medical website has warned people against one of the latest fads, raw seafood in the form of “squid shots” that could also carry a helping of very unhealthy bacteria.
Pakpoom Dejhasadin, aka Panda Lab Doctor, is a medical technician at the National Blood Centre and at the Thai Red Cross Society.
In a post of his popular Mor Lab Panda Facebook page on Friday he warned that ingesting raw seafood could mean also ingesting vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria, which causes diarrhoea, vomiting, severe stomachache, headache and shivering within 12 to 24 hours.
He posted his warning as videos of people downing "squid shots" spread on social media.
It involves placing small live squid in shot glasses containing seafood sauce. The squid instinctively suck the seafood sauce into their bodies, and are then eaten alive.
The videos have drawn comments of concern about possible food poisoning and being cruel to animals.
Mr Pakpoom said the consumption of raw squid also carried the risk of ingesting anisakis parasites, which were two to five centimetres long and resembled earthworms.
"I assume that fresh squid is sweet, but if it is not cooked then it can carry infection," he wrote.