In Dauis, Bohol 41 pupils hospitalized after eating "tuba-tuba"

CEBU, Philippines - At least 41 pupils, most of them Badjaos, from Totolan Elementary School in Dauis town in Panglao island, were poisoned after eating jatropha seeds, locally known as “tuba-tuba” or “kasla” during lunchtime last Friday.

Initially, there were only 36 pupils—23 boys and 13 girls—from Grades 1 to 4, who complained of stomachache. Some of them were fainting and vomiting when they returned to the classroom for the afternoon classes.

It was learned that at around 1 p.m. that day, after having their lunch, the children had fun picking up jatropha fruits at the back portion of the campus and ate the seeds.

In the middle of the afternoon classes, their respective class advisers noticed some of the pupils complained of stomachache, some were fainting, some were vomiting.

The class advisers reported the incident to the school principal. It was around 4 p.m. then and the school principal called for assistance from the municipal police, through SPO4 Yolando Hormachuelos, and the provincial government’s TARSIER 117 (Quick Response Team) for ambulances that transported the poisoned children from Dauis to the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City.

The pupils were still vomiting at the emergency room and were immediately given medical attention.

Upon learning of the incident, the school district supervisor instructed Totolan school officials to recheck if there were still pupils who were similarly affected so that they could be assisted for hospitalization.

Most of those who were rushed earlier had been discharged from the hospital before night time though, while ten of them had to be admitted and were still under observation as of yesterday.

In the evening, five more pupils were rushed to Gallares Hospital, making the count to 41, the total number of pupils brought for treatment.

Investigators also explored the possibility that there were other poisonous substances that the children had taken in, before concluding that it was caused by eating fried jatropha seeds.