Lab results on Bohol poisoning out tomorrow

Health experts will release test results tomorrow that may end speculation on what caused the deaths of 28 schoolchildren victimized by food poisoning in Bohol.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said yesterday that experts from the University of the Philippines pharmacology department were still examining food and blood samples to determine on why 104 schoolchildren from Mabini town were poisoned after eating cassava sweets Tuesday.

Health authorities said a 13-year-old girl died at 5 p.m. yesterday at the Celestino Gallares Hospital in Tagbilaran City, bringing the death toll to 28.

Health and forensic experts took blood samples from some survivors, as well as food samples and trace evidence from the container of oil used to fry the cassava snacks. These will be sent to Manila for analysis.

Experts are eyeing either naturally occurring cyanide or organophosphate pesticide as possible causes for the poisoning.

The victims fell ill minutes after eating maruya and pitsi-pitsi made of cassava flour during their morning snack at the San Jose Elementary School. The delicacies were sold by two local vendors, one of whom was also poisoned.

Dayrit said the mass poisoning was a "freak accident" that should never happen again.

Department of Health (DOH) epidemiologist Dr. Troy Gepte said cyanide is inherent in root crops, particularly cassava. In the summer, the level of toxin in the crops is high because the soil the crops grow in is dry.

But Gepte said the cyanide in cassava is reduced by proper rinsing and cooking.

Organophosphate, on the other hand, is believed to have contaminated the cooking oil used to prepare the sweets.

Dayrit said the symptoms shown by the victims were consistent with both cyanide and pesticide poisoning, making it harder to determine what poisoned them.

Besides this, some of the victims responded to sodium nitrite and sodium thiosulfate — antidotes used for cyanide poisoning, while others responded to atropine, the antidote for organophosphate poisoning.

President Arroyo assured yesterday that measures are being taken by the government to prevent a repeat of the tragedy — including improvements in the capability of public schools to respond to emergencies and provide safe and nutritious food for children.

Education Secretary Florencio Abad said the government will work with school authorities and parent-teacher associations to put up canteens that provide safe and nutritious food.

He said a meeting is being organized among public school principals, the Department of Education (DepEd), the DOH, local government officials and the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to discuss ways to avoid similar tragedies and improve the schools' response with first-aid training, among other things.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said contents from pesticide cans — which may have been mistaken for flour — could have been used in cooking the cassava treats.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said, "the cans were found inside the house of the person who cooked the food."

The NBI is the lead agency probing the cassava poisoning in Mabini town, although it is working with toxicologists from UP.

"The team has already ruled out rat poison and hydrocyanic poison as the cause of their death because there was no internal bleeding," he said. The NBI chief said the probe into te poisoning "has now become a criminal investigation."

Ana Luyong, 68, one of the vendors who sold the deadly cassava, is currently being treated for stress and heart-related problems in a hospital. The other vendor, Victoria Hibiya, is now in police custody.

Some of Luyong’s grandchildren were also poisoned, but Wycoco said losing her grandchildren does not spare Luyong from possible criminal liability. "If found guilty, she might still face charges of multiple homicide through reckless imprudence," he said.

The town mayor, as well as school authorities, could also be held liable for civil damages for negligence, Velasco added.

Mayor Stephen Rances of Mabini reportedly started banning vendors from selling food near schools yesterday.

A ranking DepEd official said authorities at the San Jose Elementary School could also be held accountable for allowing vendors enter the school premises. — With reports from Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Freeman News Service (Ferliza Contratista, Jose Sollano, Jasmin Uy), Sandy Araneta, Marvin Sy