DOH probes Bilibid poisoning

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) has dispatched disease experts to look into the food poisoning that affected more than 1,100 inmates of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City, an official said yesterday.

DOH Secretary Paulyn Ubial said samples have been collected and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine for examination.

“We are checking if it’s inherently in the food or it was because of the handling. We are also looking at the preparation area in Bilibid,” she added.

Ubial said the team was also tasked to provide medical treatment for the inmates. She said that as of Monday, only 56 were confined.

“The rest are outpatients and they were given oral rehydration solution and pain relievers and medicine to stop them from vomiting,” she said.

The inmates reportedly suffered diarrhea after eating milkfish served at the canteen of the national penitentiary last Thursday.

Mang Kiko Catering Services Inc., which has been providing food for the NBP inmates for the past 11 years, said yesterday it is not possible that the food caused the diarrhea outbreak.

In a statement sent to The STAR, the firm called on the DOH and city health officials to immediately inspect the prison’s water supply. It said that it has been warning Bureau of Corrections officials about the inmates’ unsafe drinking water for the past years.

“In fact, Mang Kiko secured a different water source for its kitchen to ensure that its food preparations will not be contaminated and the water supply of Mang Kiko is regularly subjected to lab testing and is equipped with a chlorinator,” the firm said.