Food poisoning downed kids

CEBU, Philippines - Four of the five minors admitted to the hospital after being downed by abdominal pains were diagnosed to have indeed suffered from "persistent vomiting with some dehydration secondary to food poisoning," based on the medical bulletin released by the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center yesterday.

The five children from the Lapu-Lapu City Home Care Center for Children, all females aged 11 to 16, were brought to VSMMC on Saturday at 1 a.m. for persistent vomiting and abdominal pains. The parents of one of them opted not to be hospitalized.

The four were managed as patients of acute food poisoning.

They were well until seven hours after having dinner (sautéed pork with baby shrimps or alamang) before they started complaining of nausea, vomiting, abdominal pains, cramps, headache and weakness.

The four patients were already discharged yesterday after laboratory results yielded normal results.

They were likewise instructed to take oral rehydration solution for hydration and to follow up two days after discharge at the pediatrics Out-Patient Department or the nearest local hospital.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said the city will shoulder the hospital expenses of the children.

“I am instructing the City Social Welfare and Development headed by Ermelita Degamo to monitor the condition of the children,” Radaza said, adding that she is waiting for the full report of the CSWD regarding their situation.

The Lapu-Lapu City Home Care Center for Children, located in Barangay Gun-ob, serves as a temporary shelter for minors in trouble with law or whose cases are still pending in court. The center has been operating for the past six years. — (FREEMAN)