Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Nine students from Juan Sumulong National High School, who displayed symptoms of food poisoning, were rushed to the Quirino Memorial Medical Center on Thursday afternoon (July 16) after eating macapuno candies.
The students’ symptoms include nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting.
On Thursday, seven of the victims, who showed irregular heartbeats, were placed under monitoring at the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). The two others, who were already in stable condition the same day, were confined inside the pediatric ward.
According to Dr. Jojo Mercado, the hospital’s spokesperson, all of these students became ill after eating macapuno candies. Samples of these candies have been brought to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — while blood samples from these students were taken to the National Poison Control for testing.
Doctors are looking into organophosphate as a possible cause for the poisoning. However, this still needs confirmation from the FDA.
Earlier reports said that 40 students displayed food poisoning symptoms, but only nine were confirmed to have been confined in the said the hospital.
Dr. Mercado encouraged parents to immediately seek medical attention in case their children feel nauseous, start vomiting, or have abdominal pain.
