BANNED Authorities inspect these brightly colored, flavored “lambanog” that are temporarily prohibited in the market after an outbreak of possible methanol poisoning in Laguna and Quezon. —PHOTO COURTESY OF CAVITE PNP
SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna, Philippines — Residents, specifically from Rizal town in Laguna province, kept flocking to health centers on Tuesday amid an outbreak of suspected methanol poisoning supposedly from drinking “lambanog” (coconut wine).
As of Tuesday, the Department of Health (DOH) in Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), said the death toll had climbed to 14 (nine in Rizal, two in Nagcarlan, both in Laguna); and three in Candelaria town, Quezon province).
Dozens were still confined in various hospitals in Manila and Batangas province, some of them had gone into coma.
Rizal town has declared a state of calamity to allow local officials to access government funds for funeral expenses and financial aid to affected families.
The Laguna Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (DRRMC) said 500 people from Rizal, Nagcarlan and San Pablo City had gone to the hospitals since they started falling ill over the weekend.
Organ failure
At Batangas Medical Center, more than 50 patients, some of them minors, were still confined for observation.
Hospitals, with facilities for blood testing and dialysis, were overwhelmed, with patients sharing hospital beds or staying on corridors.
Rene Vitangcol from Rizal town, whose brother Ricky had died of poisoning, had gone into coma after suffering multiple organ failure on late Monday.
“(Rene) did not feel the effect right away. By the time he went to the hospital, his condition already worsened that he had to be put on life support,” said Rizal Vice Mayor Antonino Aurelio.
He said another resident, who was rushed to a hospital in Manila, died “on the same day he was supposed to be discharged.”
High methanol level
Authorities were expecting the results of the laboratory tests to come out on Tuesday afternoon, but they suspected the outbreak was caused by the high methanol level mixed into the lambanog.
DOH regional chief, Eduardo Janairo, said victims of the poisoning may experience blindness and organ failure. “They have to be observed for three to five days,” he added.
The DOH waived fees for victims taken to Batangas Medical Center, Philippine General Hospital, East Avenue Medical Center and Rizal Medical Center.
Aurelio said most victims came from poor families, who could only afford the “cheap drink sold at P15 per bottle the size of a cooking oil’s.”
Christmas tradition
The regional DRRMC was preparing psychosocial therapy for families who lost their loved ones during the Christmas season.
“It’s a tradition here [in Rizal] to drink specially on Christmas Day. Families would stash gallons of lambanog in their homes ahead of Christmas for that. Imagine if this [outbreak] happened tomorrow [Christmas], I don’t know, [the number of victims] could have been thousands,” Aurelio said.