KEY POINTS:
Three members of the same family have survived a near-lethal dose of toxic honey poisoning while on holiday in the Coromandel.
Joseph Reynolds was rushed to hospital with violent seizures on Thursday night after eating a few teaspoons of comb honey.
The English tourist, his 3-year-old nephew Daniel and sister-in-law Jo Whittle, 38, began vomiting only hours after eating the honey.
Speaking from his Thames Hospital bed yesterday, the 32-year-old said he threw up five or six times that night. "Apparently I had a fit and the next thing I knew I woke up in the back of the ambulance. We were just lucky my partner's parents were there when Daniel and Jo got sick, too."
A second ambulance was called for the toddler and Whittle who had the same symptoms. They were discharged from hospital yesterday.
"They're okay now but Daniel had a seizure, too, and his mum thought he was a goner," said Reynolds.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority and Waikato District Health Board have issued a warning against eating Coromandel comb honey bought in recent days.
The honey may have high levels of tutin toxin, which can cause vomiting, delirium, giddiness, coma and convulsions and even death.
Hot, dry conditions are particularly suitable for toxin production. The last known poisoning was in 1991 in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Consumers who develop symptoms should contact a doctor immediately.
