SAN JOSE, Antique – The Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) urges Antiqueños not to panic over the reported death of a three-year-old boy due to a suspected case of meningococcemia.
IPHO Health Officer Dr. Leoncio Abiera Jr. on Wednesday appealed for calm, regarding information circulating on social media about the death of a three-year-old boy who was on vacation in Barangay Buhang, Hamtic, Antique.
“Please don’t panic,” Abiera said, adding meningococcemia is caused by Neisseria meningitis bacteria that can live harmlessly in the upper respiratory tract of a human being.
It cannot survive in the outside environment for over a minute, he said.
“The mode of transmission of the disease is droplet,” he added.
Abiera said the child, who is from Dumangas, Iloilo, was on vacation with his mother in Antique since Dec. 29, 2019.
The boy experienced fever, convulsion and vomiting. His mother brought him to the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH) around 9 a.m. on Jan. 13.
The boy, however, died around 2:30 p.m. of the same day.
“The case as for now is just meningococcemia suspect until the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine could confirm the result of the blood sample taken from the boy,” Abiera said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Luz Resurreccion, Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Specialist at the ASMGH, said meningococcemia usually occurs among children below four years old and to those “immunocompromised” persons because of their low resistance to the bacteria.
“For those children who had close contact with the suspected case, Rifampicin is being given as prophylaxis for two days while for adults, one dose of Ciprofloxacin,” Resurreccion added.
Abiera said as of Wednesday, around 70 persons have already received prophylaxis by a medical team which was sent to Barangay Buhang to conduct health education among the residents in the area.(With a report from PNA/PN)
