2 children die after eating ‘tahong’ in Samar


TACLOBAN CITY –  Two children died and four other family members were downed by suspected paralytic shellfish poisoning in the island town of Daram in Samar, according to the Department of Health (DOH-8) Wednesday, September 16.

An eight-year-old boy and his three-year-old brother manifested symptoms of food poisoning after eating green mussels (tahong) for lunch on Tuesday in Barangay Bagacay of said town.

The victims experienced numbness, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain. Six of the seven family members were rushed to the hospital, however, the two children were declared dead on-arrival at Samar Provincial Hospital in Catbalogan City.

Roderick Boyd Cerro, the regional epidemiology surveillance unit chief, said all the symptoms indicated that the patients suffered from paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) after eating red ride-infected shellfish. 

He also reminded the public that PSP can be fatal depending on the number of toxins ingested by a person.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-8) information officer Christine Gresola, said their provincial office has already launched an investigation on the incident since the the coastal waters of Daram are not contaminated with red tide based on samples collected by their laboratory.

Irong-Irong Bay in Samar, Cancabato Bay in Tacloban City; Matarinao Bay in the towns of General MacArthur, Hernani, Quinapondan, and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; Carigara Bay in Babatngon, San Miguel, Barugo, Carigara, and Capoocan in Leyte; and the coastal waters of Guiuan, Eastern Samar are currently infested by red tide.

BFAR-8 continues to appeal to the public to refrain from gathering, selling, and eating shellfish from these areas because these are not safe for human consumption.