87 being monitored for symptoms in ‘lethal’ lambanog case

Authorities are monitoring the condition of 87 people who drank a similar lambanog that might have killed several people in Laguna last week.

According to a report by Jun Veneracion on “24 Oras” on Monday, two of the 87 have already been hospitalized.

“Hindi pa natin masasabi. Maaring may mga kung tawagin ay delayed reactions. Pero sana naman ay wala nang mawalan pa ng buhay,” said Calamba City Health Officer Dr. Dennis Labro in the report.

Some of the people whose deaths are being linked to drinking lambanog in recent days are four tricycle drivers in Quezon City; four other men in Sta. Rosa, Laguna; and six in Calamba.

In Capas, Tarlac last month, three people died and 10 were hospitalized after drinking lambanog.

Even before the recent deaths, the Food and Drug Administration had been testing lambanog samples due to similar cases in Luciana in Laguna; Antipolo City; and Pampanga, and found high levels of toxic methanol in the samples.

Calamba barangay health worker Felicidad Rodriguez called on those who have consumed lambanog to immediately seek hospital treatment if they start to suffer stomach aches. Methanol poisoning symptoms will only manifest 12 to 24 hours after ingestion.

One of those who were brought to the hospital after drinking lambanog in Laguna last week is Antonio Banaag, who said that he felt sick for the first time in all his years of drinking lambanog.

“Bigla ako nalulula, tapos naglalaway...bigla na lang ako nagsuka,” Banaag said.

The FDA has taken lambanog samples from Calamba and Sta. Rosa in Laguna as well as Quezon City. It is also inspecting stores nationwide to ensure that the lambanog being sold has been cleared. The agency earlier said that lambanog products without the FDA seal will be confiscated.

The police  has already confiscated a certain lambanog brand that is believed to be the one drunk by the victims in Calamba and in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

The City Health Office of Calamba has also temporarily banned the sale of lambanog as a precautionary measure.

Authorities are yet to find the manufacturers of the lambanog brand in question. — Llanesca T. Panti/BM, GMA News