Lizard: a snack that could bite back

Vientiane residents who still enjoy eating wild animals have been warned that they can become sick or die from eating the flesh of the monitor lizard if it is not properly cooked.

The monitor lizard is a carrion eater and its blood carries dangerous bacteria, said Mynoi, who preferred not to give her real name, of Sokphaluang village in Sisattanak district, Vientiane.

“My husband always brings back a lizard to eat at home when he goes to the provinces for work. Lizard is a special meat, but it must be cooked well before eating it,” she explained.

Sometimes, his friends buy it for him when they return from working in the provinces and invite him round to their houses to eat it with them. They enjoy eating the reptile with Lao alcohol or beer, she said.

The lizard is a fierce predator and scavenger, feeding on insects, birds, reptiles and their eggs, small mammals, and carrion. This means that its mouth carries virulent bacteria, and its bite alone can cause illness or even death, according to Mynoi.

“I'm very afraid while I'm killing it to cook because my hands get covered in its blood, but I must do it, because my husband likes eating lizard meat,” she said.

Mynoi has never heard of anyone dying after eating wild animals in Vientiane or in other provinces of Laos. But she heard of people suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea after eating wildlife because vendors use formalin to preserve the meat for as long as possible.

“I knew the monitor lizard's mouth and blood were very dangerous from something I saw on TV,” she said.

Mynoi is always telling her husband he should eat pork, fish, beef and poultry instead of lizard, but he tells her she is crazy. Meat from farm animals can be bought anywhere but wildlife is hard to find in Lao markets, he reasons.

Lizards are usually caught and sold in remote markets throughout the country during the rainy season, because the animals venture out to find carrion the most at this time of year.

Large lizards are sold for about 120,000 kip each, but they are tastier in the dry season than during the rains, she said. During the wet season the flesh does not taste or smell as good because the animal has mainly been feeding on rotting carcasses.

According to Mrs Kounlathida Phetxiengda, a doctor from Settathirath Hospital, people should avoid eating wildlife meat to protect themselves from inevitable health problems, especially sickness caused by formalin, which vendors use to preserve fresh meat.


By Khonesavanh Latsaphao
Vientianetimes

Posted by samakomlao on 11:04 AM. Filed under Healths . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Feel free to leave a response