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Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Toxic mussel claims another victim
By Fred P. Macaraeg
SAN CARLOS -- Red tide toxin-affected mussels have claimed another victim from Malasiqui town after a seven-year-old boy in Dagupan City succumbed to the poisonous tahong (mussel).
The fatality was Jason Terrado, 4, a resident of Barangay Pasima, Malasiqui who died last Saturday after the family ate mussels.
His father Cesar, mother Veronica, brothers Joel and Jessie, and sisters Jocelyn and Jacquelou were still under observation at the Pangasinan provincial hospital in barangay Bolingit here as of press time Monday.
The mussels had been bought at the Malasiqui public market.
Last Friday, Jomar Martinez, 7, of island Barangay Pugaro in Dagupan died due to toxic tahong bought by his father Renato, 41, at the Magsaysay fish market near the Mele's pub and restaurant.
Renato and his daughter Mary Jane, 11, had also been hospitalized.
Westly Rosario, chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar), said the point of origin of the mussels that killed the two children and hospitalized their families is not known.
Although he admitted that most of the mussels sold in Pangasinan came from the western part of the province, particularly in some parts of the coastal waters of Bolinao and Anda towns.
"What is the primary concern of the BFAR are the shellfishes, tahong (mussel) and talaba (oyster)," Rosario said, adding that the fishes coming from the towns are safe for human consumption. But he advised the people to remove the guts.
He pointed out, however, that the coastal and inland waters of Dagupan and the town of Binmaley are not affected by the red tide toxin.
"Talaba from western Pangasinan are big while the talaba in Dagupan and Binmaley are small in size," he said.
Rosario disclosed that five years ago, the BFAR officials already feared the coastal waters of Bolinao and Anda would be affected by the phenomenon due to its proximity to Zambales province and the intensity of aquaculture activities in those two areas.
"We have been monitoring those areas ever since, even before the death incidents," he said even as he pointed out that BFAR Regional Director Nestor "Domenden had also requested that the people refrain from gathering or harvesting mussels."
He advised the officials of coastal towns to strictly monitor their areas and prohibit the harvesting of mussels because there are many excursionists and people taking vacations in the province and they might be affected.
"It would have a negative effect is something happens to our visitors and the tourists," he said.
Rosario said victims of the paralytic toxin should be immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment.
(April 29, 2003 issue)
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