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Catfish Consumption and Failing Health: The Case of Kofi Jumah
Kofi Jumah, Managing Director of GHIHOC Distilleries, attributes his poor health to excessive catfish consumption. According to Graphic Online’s 30th September 2024 edition, doctors in the United States, where he sought treatment, made this diagnosis. They reportedly found high iodine levels in his system, linking it to increased catfish consumption.
The former Member of Parliament for Asokwah constituency’s claims are concerning and gravely troubling. Unless you’ve seen the accompanying picture, you cannot fully grasp the severity of his condition.
In his present recovered state, he looks dead. He looks like a boy wearing the skin and looks of an 80 year old man. You find the excess mass of skin hanging freely from the base of his eyeballs dripping to his hands and the rest of his parts concealed by clothes.
My interest lies not in Mr Jumah’s medical predicament but in how catfish consumption allegedly caused his health issues. This raises urgent questions:
1. Is the Claim True?Did catfish consumption solely cause his health problems, or was it a contributing factor?
2. Is catfish unsafe for everyone or only for individuals with specific medical conditions?
3. Will catfish enthusiasts face similar health consequences, or are there ways to consume it safely?
4. What are the positions of the medical association, food and drugs authority, and Ghana standards authority on these claims, considering public health and safety?
5. How will this claim affect the catfish economy, given that public awareness could deter consumers?
6. What are the views of the Ghana Agriculture workers union, Trade Union Congress of Ghana, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Ministry of Trade and Industry on this matter?
In conclusion s Mr Jumah’s warning a genuine public health concern or an expensive joke threatening the catfish industry?
As I write, with catfish in my fridge, I’m troubled about how to proceed. I expect leaders in public health to provide evidence-based affirmation or denial of Mr Jumah’s claims.
What do you think?
Benjamin Akyena Brantuoi s a a health enthusiast and author of the book:
Dying Many Times: The Struggles of a Cancer Patient
By SavannahNewsOnline.Com/Philip Liebs
