Pizza downs nine people

CEBU, Philippines - Nine people were brought to the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center the other day when they reportedly showed signs of food poisoning after eating in a pizza outlet along B. Rodriguez Street.

Eight of the patients were nursing students from Asian College of Technology and the other one was their Clinical Instructor.

The students, aged 20-22, were brought to VSMMC after they suffered from severe LBM and vomiting.

City Councilor Gerry Carillo said that in the initial investigation made by sanitary inspectors deployed, the patients just ate at Alberto’s pizza house in front of VSMMC.

 The group was said to have ate the Beef and Mushroom Quick melt Cheese pizza, which is seen by the investigating team as the probable source of what ailed the students.

However, further investigations are still being conducted to determine the real cause of the poisoning.

Six of the patients were treated at VSMMC and the other three were out patients.

They were later transfered to Cebu City Medical Center.

Carillo said that the team have taken samples from the Beef and Mushroom pizza and is waiting for the results.

According to Carillo, the pizza house has the sanitary permits and other papers needed to operate.

 He said that they are already making their report which will be passed to Acting Mayor Michael Rama.

The management of Alberto’s Pizza has not issued a statement as of this writing however a staff of the said branch said during a phone interview with The Freeman said that they are admitting that it was the beef that may have been the cause.

The staff member said that they paid for all the expenses of the patients in the hospital and that the patients are already all right.– AJ de la Torre/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)