Editing Tetrodotoxin (section)

==Poisoning==

Tetrodotoxin is 100 times more poisonous than potassium cyanide. Fish poisoning by consumption of members of the order Tetraodontiformes is extremely serious. The skin and organs (e.g. liver) of the pufferfish can contain levels of tetrodotoxin sufficient to produce paralysis of the diaphragm and death due to respiratory failure. Toxicity varies between species and at different seasons and geographic localities, and the flesh of many pufferfish may not usually be dangerously toxic. It is not always entirely fatal, however; at near-lethal doses, it can leave a person in a state of near-death for several days, while the person continues to be conscious.

The lethal dose for humans is roughly 25 milligrams (0.000881 oz) of tetrodotoxin and would be expected to kill a 75 kg (170 lb) person. The amount needed to reach a lethal dose by injection is much smaller, 8 mg per kg, or a little over one-half milligram (0.00002 oz) per person.