216 hit by food poisoning, 126 still in hospital in Agusan del Sur
The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said 126 individuals in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur who experienced symptoms of food poisoning remained in the hospital following meals served on Monday night.
In a statement Wednesday, the PRC said 90 out of the 216 patients affected by suspected food poisoning were discharged from the hospital.
"We, at the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), express our deepest concern for the 216 people reported by Agusan del Sur Provincial Health Officials, as having been hospitalized on Monday night due to a food- or water-borne illness in Barangay Tandang Sora in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur," the PRC said.
“We are comforted to learn from our chapter in Agusan del Sur that as of last night, 90 of the patients were already discharged and our local teams assisted the local government in taking a number of the patients to their respective houses. We will continue to follow up on their situation,” it added
Agusan del Sur Gov. Santiago Cane, Jr. recently ordered the suspension of the hot food truck operation stationed in Barangay Tandang Sora in the province after some people reported experiencing stomach aches and vomiting after eating food served to them by the PRC.
“This suspension is necessary pending the results of laboratory tests conducted on the victims to ascertain the cause of the alleged food poisoning. Once the results of the tests are available and appropriate measures have been taken to address any identified concerns, we will be more than willing to resume the operation of the hot food truck,” Cane said in a letter addressed to the Agusan del Sur chapter of the PRC.
The PRC added that they are coordinating with local government officials to assist the victims and have set up a welfare desk at the hospital for the remaining patients.
In a radio interview, PRC Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang said they are waiting for the results of the investigation on the cause of the alleged food poisoning.
“I want to clarify that this is not the first time (we have) served meals and we were throughout the event or the disaster that happened,” Pang said.
“Around 3 pm we received reports that there were individuals who were vomiting and having diarrhea, so immediately, we offered to assist in transferring them to the hospitals. The local government and the local DOH (Department of Health) helped us…We sent medicines from Butuan in Agusan del Norte,” she said.
“Immediately, the Municipality of Esperanza and the governor of Agusan del Sur called for a meeting. They are still investigating the cause of vomiting. So we still don’t know the reason because the local officials are still investigating it. I think the results from Caraga will arrive today, so we are waiting for that,” she added.
In a separate interview, Agusan del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) Public Information Officer Alexis Cabardo said contaminated water could be the cause of vomiting of the affected residents of the town.
Cabardo said the town has been submerged in floods in the past week and in some areas, the waters have not yet subsided.
“Due to how high the floodwaters were, it reached the water pipes. We suspect that the water caused the incident, it was because the water pipes were leaking,” Cabardo said.
He said the suspected food poisoning happened on the seventh day of the operations of the PRC’s Hot Meals on Wheels program.
The PRC previously served meals to the nearby towns of San Luis and Talacagon but the incident only happened in Esperanza, Cabardo said.
Cabardo said the Barangay Tandang Sora was undergoing a water sample and authorities are waiting for its results.
“We already took water samples so that we can run the test in the laboratory and identify the cause of the vomiting, stomach aches, and diarrhea of the residents,” Cabardo said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS
