Lambanog makers to be strictly watched
Credit to Author: Jan Arcilla| Date: Tue, 24 Dec 2019 16:10:56 +0000
HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd visited one of the victims of “lambanog” (coconut wine) poisoning at a hospital in Quezon City on Tuesday.
The unidentified patient was one of three who remained confined at the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC), said Duque in a press conference.
Duque said two were staying in regular rooms, while the other was at the intensive care unit for dialysis treatment.
He added that the victims were among the 83 who were originally brought to the EAMC for severe abdominal pain that was traced to drinking lambanog over the weekend. Other victims decided to leave against doctor’s orders.
Duque said most likely, the patients left “because it was Christmas [and] they want to be with their families so they think they’re okay. [They need to] watch out for other symptoms so that they know if they need to come back when those symptoms become apparent.”
At least 12 people died in the incidents that occurred in Quezon and Laguna and about 300 others were brought to other hospitals in Metro Manila, notably at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila and the Rizal Medical Center.
The Health secretary urged local government units (LGUs) to closely monitor the activities of lambanog manufacturers.
Duque said most of the lambanog were products of backyard industries.
“LGUs are in the better position to monitor these activities because they are aware, they know the whereabouts of the families in the barangay (villages) and local communities. So, pwedeng pwede nilang matutukan ‘yan eh (So, they can monitor that) with that manpower,” he added.
Dr. John Paul Ner, a toxicologist, said LGUs should have people handling the safety of each product.
“As far as I know, in the LGUs, they also have people handling food safety with food sanitation, so they have some sort of regulatory power,” he added.
Ner said patients should be observed for possible symptoms for at least three to five days. He advised discharged patients to continue monitoring their status and go to the nearest hospital if symptoms persisted.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information and World Health Organization (WHO), methanol toxicity or poisoning is caused by “methanol, a toxic alcohol mostly found in household products like varnishes and pesticides, among others. The alcohol can be abosrbed by the body through ingestion, skin absorption and inhalation.”
One of the most common causes of methanol poisoning, according to WHO, is through the “consumption of adulterated counterfeit or informally-produced spirit drinks.”
People experiencing methanol poisoning may experience drowsiness and unsteadiness, among others, in the first few hours of exposure. Overtime, victims may begin experiencing abdominal pain and vomiting. For extreme cases, patients may experience convulsions, coma and even death.
WITH FAYE ALMAZAN