Public told: Cook root vegetables thoroughly

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Health Office (PHO) has reminded the public that to ensure safe consumption, root vegetables should be cooked thoroughly.

The reminder came after the death of a six-year-old girl who was reportedly poisoned by the cassava, locally known as “kamoteng kahoy or balanghoy,” she was eating for dinner in Dumanjug, Cebu.

PHO chief Cynthia Genosolango said cassava contains cyanide compound that is deadly when consumed.

Cyanide, she explained, disallows the body from using oxygen which may lead to suffocation.

“It has been proven by toxicologists that cyanide is fatal,” she told reporters.

She said her office was still verifying the cause of the death of the child.

But they initially found that the case was a food poisoning based on the signs manifested by the victim, identified as Noven Monteza.

Monteza and her two siblings, aged nine and two, were brought to Barili District Hospital after they were believed to have been poisoned by the cassava they ate.

The three are residents of Barangay Balaygtiki in Dumanjug, a neighboring town of Barili.

Two of the victims are currently recuperating at the Cebu Provincial Hospital in Carcar City.

Genosolango said the victims complained of frequent vomiting, abdominal pains and dizziness after eating cassava for dinner on Sunday. The victims were brought to the hospital in Barili only on Tuesday morning.

The PHO has yet to check on the conditions of the two victims.

“We already forwarded the report to RESU (Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit) for their action and response. We are also monitoring the situation,” Genosolango added.

A tragic case of cassava poisoning happened a decade ago in Mabini, Bohol where 30 elementary schoolchildren died after eating a delicacy made from cassava.

In that incident, at least 110 students complained of stomach pains and dizziness after eating cassava cake.  (FREEMAN)