Fish kills Negros boy, downs 12 others

BACOLOD CITY — Silay City health officials are probing the death of an eight-year-old boy and the hospitalization of 12 other villagers after they ate a fish locally known as marot last weekend.

Dr. Sabrina Damaso, Silay City health officer, said the boy, John Allen Sonio, died from dehydration since he was not immediately brought to the hospital for treatment.

The other victims were members of the boy’s family and their relatives and neighbors in Sitio Patag Diotay, Barangay Guimbalaon.

The boy’s mother, Elisa, said she bought the fish from the public market.

Provincial agriculturist Roel Almoneda, who heads the Marine Biotoxin Testing Center, discounted the possibility of red tide poisoning.

He said spoiled marot contains histamine, an allergen which can be fatal if not treated immediately. — Antonieta Lopez