Candy poisoning victims reach 10
The number of students who fell ill after eating macapuno candies reached 10 after a 12-yearold boy was rushed to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center Friday afternoon, an official said yesterday.
The 10th student of the Juan Sumulong High School suffered from stomach pains, vomiting and nausea, Dr. Jojo Mercado said.
“He ignored the pain. Perhaps his family watched television interviews in which we detailed the symptoms so they went for a consultation. That’s good, at least they listen to medical advice,” Mercado told reporters.
He said the 10th victim was initially brought to the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) but was transferred to the pediatrics ward when his condition improved over several hours.
As of yesterday morning, 10 students had been admitted to the QMMC due to macapuno candy poisoning.
Mercado, who hopes there won’t be any more victims, said four of the students were set to be discharged yesterday afternoon. Five remain at the pediatrics ward and one – a 14-year-old girl who consumed 36 macapuno candies – is still in the ICU after doctors found her heartbeat was irregular.
“Most probably the more candies you ate, the worse the effect,” he said.
Mercado urged parents of Juan Sumulong High School students to take their children to the hospital if their children show symptoms of poisoning. He said they should not worry about hospital expenses as they will be shouldered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. through its Alagang Pinoy program.
“We don’t recommend self-medication. We still advise them to seek medical consultation,” he said.
The QMMC has submitted the students’ blood samples to the Philippine General Hospital and some samples of the macapuno candies to the Food and Drugs Administration.
Mercado is expecting that the results of the laboratory tests will be released tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Quezon City Health Office will continue the epidemiological investigation at the Juan Sumulong High School.
Dr. Pena Linga, chief of the Quezon City health department, added that they will also conduct consultations and information dissemination on food poisoning.
Cubao police station Superintendent Marlou Gonzales said they are coordinating with the students to come up with a sketch of the vendor who went from classroom to classroom to sell the candies.
The vendor was described to be in his 20s and claimed to be a “self-supporting student.”