A visit to Cauayan, Negros Occidental was made by SUAKCREM staff on April 11, 2017 to review the status of the preliminary study headed by Dr. Ely Alcala of toxic jellyfish reported to have caused human poisoning. Demer Paglomotan, a Silliman graduate student in Education from Central Philippine State University, who is a member of the research team, briefed us on the preliminary results of the study. According to Paglomotan, the research team interviewed the families of the victims who died of the poisoning and the survivors of the envenomations and recorded a total of 35 victims, of which 11 died and 24 survived, during the period 1990 to 2016. Of the 11 fatal cases, 6 occurred in the Poblacion and 5 in the adjacent Barangay Tiling. The victims were mostly fishermen but bathers in shallow water were also victims.

Marine biologist needed to study jellyfish. (2017, April 17). Malaya, p. B5.