Tuba-tuba downs 20 pupils in Bohol

At least 20 students in an elementary school in Bohol were rushed Wednesday afternoon to a local hospital after being poisoned by jathropa or tuba-tuba fruit. Radio station dzMM reported Thursday that the victims were Grade 1 and Grade 2 students from the Batasan Elementary School in Batasan Island, Tubigon town. Jerick Edel, one of the victims, was reportedly lured to eat the fruit located just outside the school premises and invited his other classmates to join him. The children then suffered stomach pains and were soon rushed to the Tubigon Community Hospital for treatment. Jatropha is potentially lethal to humans and animals once ingested. Health officers in Mindanao have been quoted in previous reports as saying that jatropha fruits, once eaten, could cause death if medication is not immediately administered on the patient. Oil extracted from the the seed of the jathropa plant, or physic nut, can be used to produce biofuel and soap. The plant's leaves are also used to fumigate households and expel bugs. It takes a 30-minute boat ride from the Tubigon town proper to reach Batasan Island. Tubigon is a second class municipality and seaport in Bohol that has a population of 40,385 people in 7,714 households. - GMANews.TV