After more than three weeks in a coma, the last member of a family believed to have been hit by the potentially-fatal botulism toxin has woken up from a coma, New Zealand media reported on Sunday.
Shibu Kochummen, his wife Subi Babu and Kochummen's 62-year-old mother, Alekutty Daniel, all fell ill at their home in the Waikato town of Putaruru on November 10 after eating infected wild boar meat.
Local news website Stuff said that Kochummen had captured the boar on a hunting trip with friends on the same day.
Kochummen and Daniel regained consciousness earlier this week, but Babu, 32, only awoke on Saturday, the New Zealand Herald reported.
A family friend told the Herald that although Babu's voice is still slurred, she was able to communicate.
"Of course we're very happy that they've come around early but how much longer it will take to get back to normality will depend on how much it has affected each one of them," he said.
Botulism, which paralyses patients and is caused by an often food-borne neurotoxin, is sometimes fatal and can leave survivors hooked up to ventilators for weeks.
A fundraising site has been set up by friends of the family, who moved to New Zealand from India five years ago. So far, over NZ$14,000 ($9,640) has been raised for their medical care.
The family fell ill on November 10 after eating infected wild boar meat. Picture: RNZ
