People have been warned not to eat fresh scallops for the time being after 17 cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning in the past three days.
The Centre for Health protection said the affected people, in nine groups, comprised six men and 11 women aged 17 to 69.
They fell ill between Saturday and yesterday after cooking and eating the scallops at home.
A spokesman for the centre said the main symptoms included numbness to the face, tongue and throat, limb weakness, dizziness, blurred vision, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The symptoms would start about half an hour to three hours after eating the scallops.
Of the 17, 14 fell ill yesterday. Only one was admitted to hospital and was in stable condition in Caritas Medical Centre yesterday.
The rest were treated at various hospitals and sent home.
The centre said the scallops were bought fresh from several markets in different districts, including Wong Tai Sin, Sham Shui Po, Kowloon City and Tuen Mun.