2025/01/01 by Vidal Haddad, Flávio César Thadeo de Lima, William G. R. Crampton +2 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies #Venomous Animal Envenomation and Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1590/0037-8682-0007-2025
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Electrical eels, or poraqués or temblones (Electrophorus spp. Gill, 1864), are highly feared animals in the Amazon, mainly because of their electric discharge of up to 860 volts. We report two cases of human injuries caused by electric eels, one of which was fatal. The shocks caused muscle rigidity, and the victim likely drowned because of muscle contracture. Strong electric shocks increase the levels of cardiac enzymes in the blood, as observed with the elevation of total creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and creatine phosphokinase myocardial band (CPK-MB) in surviving victims, which is potentially indicative of injuries caused by poraqués.