Bulacan village under state of calamity due to food poisoning

A village in Bulacan province has been placed under a state of calamity after food poisoning downed more than 100 residents there, a television report said Tuesday. Roland Ramos, chief of Barangay Meysulao in Calumpit town, was quoted in a report on GMA News TV's On Call as saying that the decision was made to allow local officials to use the calamity funds intended to help the victims, who fell ill after attending a party last Saturday. A medical mission has already been launched in the barangay to provide medicines for people displaying symptoms of food poisoning. Dr. Jessie Fantome of the regional epidemiology and surveilance unit office in Bulacan meanwhile said they are still determining if the cause of the food poisoning was the spaghetti or water served during the party. Fantome said they are currently testing both samples of each of the food served in the party and water samples from the Calumpit Water District as well as other water firms that supply water to the village. "Noong kami ay nag-imbestiga, hindi lang spaghetti ang hinanda sa party na iyan. May pansit, hotdog, ice cream, juice at lahat ng iyan ay nagpadala kami ng sample for testing," Fantome told GMA News. "May kaso din kasi kami ng nag-tae at sumakit ang tiyan na hindi naman kumain ng spaghetti. So titignan namin na baka tubig," Fantome added.

He said testing of the water and food sample might take around one week because bacteria that could be found in them still have to be grown and then later match them with those bacteria found in the victims. Just the same, health officials reiterated their advice to residents to continue boiling the water they consume, while awaiting results of the water testing in the area. For their part, Rebecca Nabong, officer-in-charge of the Calumpit Water District, assured that the water they supply was not behind the food poisoning, adding that they do monthly test of their water. "Pero kung mapapatunayang sa amin ang dahilan, sigurado namang may assistance from us," Nabong assured. She said they have sent 10 samples of their water for testing, but added results of it would still be available Wednesday afternoon. — with Mark Merueñas/RSJ, GMA News