DOH allays fears of fish poisoning

By Kristine L. Alave in Manila and Ephraim Aguilar and Jaymee Gamil, Inquirer Southern Luzon

HEALTH OFFICIALS YESTERDAY SOUGHT TO allay fears that seafood and fish caught in waters near the capsized MV Princess of the Stars were contaminated as a result of bodies that have not been retrieved in the sunken vessel.

The advisory couldn’t have come at a better time as Masbate provincial officials were battling rumors that marine products from the province were contaminated, causing a sharp decline in fish sale in the province.

Masbate Gov. Elisa Kho appealed to the public to calm down as she corrected rumors that fish caught in Masbate posed health risks to consumers.

“As long as they cook the fish very well, it is safe for consumption,” said Kho, a doctor by profession.

She said the fish scare had brought losses to fishermen in the province.

Dr. Eric Tayag, of the National Epidemiology Center, said most fish species are not carnivores and, therefore, would not eat human flesh.

“Fishes don’t eat humans,” he said. Most fish, he said, eat small plants. Bigger fishes, on the other hand, prey on smaller fishes or other marine animals, he added.

Authorities believed that around 800 passengers were trapped to death inside the ship when it was swallowed by Typhoon “Frank.”

Since the sinking, residents of Romblon and nearby provinces have refused to eat fish caught in the surrounding waters for fear that they have been contaminated by the decomposing bodies.

Dr. Baby Banatin, chief of the Department of Health Emergency Management Service, acknowledged that there is a “psychological” aversion to fish caught near the ferry.

However, she said the public should not be afraid to eat fish and seafood from the Sibuyan Sea, where the ferry sank last Saturday, saying the corpses do not pose a health risk.

“Normally, dead bodies do not pose a threat. The bodies died because of trauma, not diseases,” she said.

The Department of Health officials also said the bodies do not pose a risk to handlers and divers, who use protective gears in scouring the vessel.

Tayag and Banatin said bacteria and viruses die with the person.

“The greatest fear is psychological. Are they prepared to fish out the bodies? Are they prepared to see the bloated bodies?” she said.

Tayag said DOH has raised alerts in Iloilo, Antique, and Capiz provinces against water borne diseases.

Residents in these provinces were urged to boil their water before drinking it.

In Daraga, Albay, vendors and buyers just shrugged off the fish scare.

“If there’s a fish scare, prices would drop. But prices even increased because it’s the full moon and fish catch is down,” Fe Rifo, 30, said.

“We have yet to be poisoned by fish,” she said.

She said she was aware that bodies were surfacing in waters of Masbate.