140 people rushed to hospitals after eating bangus

ALAMINOS CITY — About 140 persons, mostly adults from this city, were rushed to the Western Pangasinan District Hospital and Bolinao Community Hospital after eating bangus (milkfish).

Dr. Jackson Soriano, provincial health officer, told The STAR that most of the patients were sent home after they were administered anti-histamine medication by their physicians.

The patients suffered various reactions after eating bangus, including vomiting, abdominal pain, skin rashes, itchiness, heat and loose bowel movement.

Soriano said they sent samples of the bangus specimen to the Bureau of Food and Drugs yesterday for laboratory examination and confirmation.

He said that since Monday, the two hospitals had admitted patients downed by eating bangus. The number, he said, continued to rise until yesterday.

Soriano, however, stressed that they are not concluding yet that it was really the fish that caused the patients’ illness, as many other factors could have triggered the incident.

“There’s no cause for alarm,” he said, adding that combined teams of police, public order and safety office and other units are doing their best to ensure that people eat fresh bangus from the market.

As of yesterday, only four remained in hospital, according to Soriano.

Tropical storm “Cosme” battered Pangasinan over the weekend, destroying fishponds and fish pens.

Soriano suspects that the bangus that could have possibly downed the patients overflowed from Sual town where many fish pens were destroyed.