DOH: No trace of toxic substance in milk tea that killed two in Manila

The Department of Health has found no trace of any toxic substance from the sample of the milk tea drink that killed two people in Manila late last week.

"Preliminary results were negative for suspected toxic substances.... However, we have expanded the tests to include biological samples such as blood, tissues, and gastric contents from the victims as collected during the autopsy," the DOH statement said.

The DOH coordinated with the Food and Drug Administration and toxicologists from University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for the investigation.They obtained and studied the footage from the food establishment to assess what happened to the victims.

On Thursday, two people died after tasting milk tea served at the Ergo Cha shop in Bustillos, Sampaloc. Another victim is recuperating at the hospital.

Based on DOH's timeline of events, the first two victims--couple Suzanne Dagohoy and Arnold Aydalla--sipped the milk tea drink before 11 a.m.

Dagohoy experienced retching, dizziness, loss of consciousness, twitching of extremities, and pallor, which happened three minutes after intake. She died at 3:55 p.m.

Aydalla, on the other hand, experienced fast breathing, chest tightness, weakness of extremities, and carpopedal spasm seven minutes after he sipped the tea. He is currently at the Philippine General Hospital.

The last victim was William Abrigo, the owner of the shop who also prepared the milk tea drinks. Three minutes after he drank the milk tea, he experienced weakness, loss of consciousness, and generalized tonic-clonic convulsion. He died at 4:45 p.m.

Isolated case of food poisoning

Meanwhile, DOH stressed that the incident is an isolated case and appealed to the public not to generalize the situation.

"The situation appears to be an isolated event, pointing to a possible case of poisoning... In fact, this is the third time the couple bought milk tea in the same food establishment. No untoward incident happened during the previous intake. We appeal to the public not to generalize the situation as many small and medium scale enterprises are dependent on the sale of milk tea and similar beverages," the statement also said.

However, the department reminded the public about the serious health impact of cyanide-containing silver jewelry cleaning solutions.

DOH is also calling for the immediate passage of a law or city ordinances that will make selling and dispensing the substances a criminal act.

"We urge the local government units to pass ordinances banning these substances in their respective jurisdictions.

Signs and symptoms

DOH also said that the public should be aware of the initial signs and symptoms of poisoning.

These are the following:

vomiting
diarrhea
muscle weakness
impaired or loss of consciousness

No matter the level of poisoning, DOH said the victim should be brought to the nearest hospital.

"Poisoning is deadly and immediate medical attention is warranted," the statement added. —NB, GMA News