A thai doctor said recently that unscrupulous vendors have been selling meat fron the highly poisonous puffer fish disguised as salmon , resulting in the deaths of more than 15 people over the past three years. Some 115 people have been hospiralized.Although it was banned in Thailand five years ago,puffer fish continues ti be sold in large quantities at local markets and restaurants. In Japan,the fish is called fugu and is prepared by highly trained chefs and consumed by thrill-seeking Japanese gourmets.