Philippines
Luzon
Girl dies, 10 others hospitalized due to red tide poisoning in Catbalogan City
Girl dies, 10 others hospitalized due to red tide poisoning in Catbalogan City
TACLOBAN City - A four-year-old girl died Wednesday, October 13, after eating green mussels and oysters believed to have come from a red tide-infested bay in Catbalogan City.
The girl and 10 others aged four to 49 years old experienced symptoms such as numbness, difficulty in breathing and vomiting after eating the shellfish which were attached to a bamboo pole that was washed ashore in Barangay Old Mahayag last October 12.
Barangay Old Mahayag is adjacent to Irong-irong bay where a shellfish ban has been imposed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Region 8 (BFAR-8).
The victims were reported to have suffered paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).
According to an investigation conducted by the City Health Office of Catbalogan and the Fisheries Resource Protection Group 8, the victims knew of the BFAR’s national and local shellfish advisories against consuming shellfish coming from Irong-irong bay. However, they still gathered the mussels and oysters from the shoreline near their residences.
Meanwhile, six other individuals from Daram, Samar, aged 18 to 55 years old, were also admitted at the Samar Provincial Hospital (SPH) on October 10 after consuming shellfish taken from the coastal waters of Daram, where a shellfish ban has also been imposed.
It can be recalled that two PSP deaths were recorded in the same municipality just last month.
As of press time, the 10 PSP patients have already been discharged, while four are still recovering at the SPH.
Two other patients were referred to the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) here for further treatment.
BFAR-8 reiterated that gathering, selling, and eating shellfish is prohibited in 13 areas namely; the coastal waters of Daram, Samar; San Pedro Bay-Basey, Samar; Matarinao Bay- General MacArthur, Hernani, Quinapondan and Salcedo in Eastern Samar; Cancabato Bay-Tacloban City; Coastal Waters of Zumarraga, Samar; Irong-irong Bay-Catbalogan, Samar; Coastal Waters of Biliran Islands; Villareal Bay- Villareal, Samar; Cambatutay Bay-Tarangnan, Samar; Coastal Waters of Leyte, Leyte; Maqueda Bay-Jiabong, Motiong, Paranas, San Sebastian, Calbiga, Pinabacdao, Hinabangan, Samar; Carigara Bay- Babatngon, San Miguel, Barugo, Carigara and Capoocan, Leyte (LSA); and the Coastal Waters of Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
On the other hand, fish, squid, crab, and shrimp, gathered from these areas may be eaten if, entrails or internal organs are removed and washed thoroughly with running water before cooking.
"We are soliciting the public’s cooperation and diligence on following our national and local shellfish advisories to safeguard human lives, most especially of the children and the elderly," BFAR-8 said in a statement.