Number of food poisoning cases up

DAGUPAN CITY—Food poisoning cases in Bolinao town in Pangasinan province increased to 30 on Friday as more people were taken to different hospitals after eating what officials said were red tide-contaminated mussels.

Most of the victims were from Barangay Ilog Malino, while the rest were from the villages of Zaragoza, Balingasay, Lambes and Luciente 1st. Four fishermen from neighboring Zambales province were also victims.

A 49-year-old woman from Barangay Ilog Malino in Bolinao died on Wednesday night after she ate mussels.

Nestor Domenden, Ilocos regional director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), on Friday banned the gathering, transport, sale and consumption of seashells and small shrimps (alamang) from the waters of Alaminos City and the towns of Bolinao, Bani and Anda.

Mayor Arnold Celeste said the town had set up checkpoints to prevent mussels and other shellfish from being transported out of Bolinao. He also directed village officials to stop residents from gathering, selling and eating mussels and other shellfish.

Celeste also asked bus companies and vans plying the town not to load mussels and other shellfish.

Before the ban, the town’s health officials had suspected that the mussels eaten by the victims were red-tide contaminated.

Aside from experiencing abdominal pains, diarrhea and vomiting, the victims also complained of numbness around their mouths and faces and difficulty in swallowing, Celeste said.

Last week, BFAR lifted the red tide alarm in Alaminos City after almost two months, leaving Bani to be the only Pangasinan town under red tide alert. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon