Actress dies after consuming frog venom during cleansing ritual

An actress has died after consuming frog venom during an elaborate cleansing ritual at a spiritual retreat in Mexico.

Marcela Alcázar Rodríguez, 33, fell unwell and died after taking part in the 'Kambo' ritual, a dangerous tradition native to parts of South America that involves ingesting poison in an effort to cleanse the body of toxins.

She began vomiting and experiencing severe diarrhoea soon after ingesting the substance on Saturday, and was rushed to a Red Cross hospital for treatment, but medics could not save her.

Diarrhoea and vomiting are considered part of the 'healing' process to cleanse the body of trauma and illness.

It is not clear how long it took Rodríguez to be taken to hospital. Witnesses said she was initially denied help when she began to feel sick, before a friend eventually came to her aid.

Police have now launched a manhunt for the supposed shaman running the unnamed retreat in Mayocoyani, Durango, and the Attorney General's Office of the State of Durango has launched an investigation.

The shaman reportedly fled the retreat after telling Rodríguez she could not leave.

The Kambo ritual is a known practice across South America and involves blistering the skin with a hot stick to apply a waxy venom derivative to the open wounds.

Symptoms after kambo are strong and immediate and can include severe vomiting, dizziness, fainting, swollen lips or face.

The experience is highly dangerous, with participants open to risk of serious adverse side effects including seizures and death, especially if it enters the bloodstream.

The poison is seen as a curative substance and a purgative: by taking it and throwing it back up one is believed to become stronger and more alert. 

Tributes poured in for Rodríguez as reports of her death emerged.

'With deep regret, today we bid farewell to our colleague and friend Marcela Alcázar,' collaborator Mexican production company, Mapache Films, said in a post. 

'Wishing also quick resignation for her closest family and friends,' the post read.

The Durango Film Guild announced on Twitter/X that it 'regrets the passing of Marcela Alcázar "Marsh", a young woman who worked in various short films, series and movies filmed in Durango'. 

'She leaves a void in the hearts of the people who knew her working in what she loved: cinema.'

What is Kambo?

- Kambo is a poison used as a traditional medicine in South America

- It is a waxy substance collected by scraping the skin of a tree frog

- The skin is blistered with a stick and small amounts are applied to wounds

- Symptoms can include severe vomiting, dizziness and fainting

 - Participants are also at risk of  seizures and death

Some local reports suggest she was attending the event promoted as part of a 'Training of Healers' diploma.

Prosecutor Sonia Yadira de la Garza Fragoso told HiperDiario that a line of investigation is being pursued for negligent homicide against Jonathan Fernando. 

She is understood to have taken the toxin in the early hours of December 1. Some reports claim the event happened on November 30.

Kambo is banned in some countries, and widely not advised to take. There is no scientific evidence to support claims it helps cleanse the body of toxins.

Members of the Matis Indians tribe in Brazil will inject themselves with the poison and have painful bitter juice dropped into their eyes, occasionally causing temporary blindness, as part of a complex coming of age ritual.

To acquire the toxin, tribesmen stretch the frog over a fire and scrape its secretions from its back before releasing it into the wild.

The participant then has his skin burned, the blister popped and the toxin - mixed with spit - applied.

Elders meanwhile brutally beat them with harsh stems of a rattan plant and will rub them with poisonous and powerfully irritating leaves.

The substance briefly calms the person, but within seconds the sensation turns to suffering as the poison seeps into the man's bloodstream.

The poison results in a full purging of the stomach.

Many Americans travel into the Peruvian Amazon to undergo the procedure as part of a wellness trend under the guidance of part-time practitioners.