92 more sports meet delegates fall ill due to food poisoning
DAVAO CITY – A day after 38 delegates from Mati, Davao Oriental were taken ill on suspicion of food poisoning and were taken to a local hospital here, 92 members of the Tagum City contingent, who are also seeing action in the Davao Regional Athletics Association (DAVRAA) here, also complained of the same symptoms Sunday night.
The 92 delegates, mostly studentathletes, complained of stomach pains as Central 911, and the City Health Office (CHO), together with representatives from the Philippine Red Cross and Coast Guard, rushed to the San Roque Elementary School to check on them.
Later in the night, the CHO decided to send 36 of the Tagum delegates to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for further testing.
The DAVRAA meet opened Sunday morning in Davao City, gathering around 7,000 student-athletes and officials from around the region.
Last Saturday, delegates from Mati complained of stomach pains, nausea and vomiting at the Sta. Ana National High School, and were taken to the SPMC for treatment. As of Sunday, three team officials, a kitchen staff and a student-athlete have already been released.
CHO Dr. Josephine Villafuerte said this happened even as the city's sanitation office assisted the various kitchens set up at different billeting areas around the city.
Patients started to complain of the symptoms around dinner time at the San Roque Elementary School around 8 p.m.
CHO officials took samples of the food products consumed by the victims, which included chocolate and milk drinks, as well as bottled water.
The Department of Education (DepEd) had earlier said that each contingent was supposed to be in charge of preparing the meals for its own delegation.
Each delegation was allocated a "kitchen cabinet" team, which was manned by technology and livelihood education teachers and kitchen staff.