Friday, August 31, 2007 6-year-old boy’s death in Badian provokes health office’s inquiry
HEALTH officials in the province are checking on the reported case of meningococcemia in Badian town that claimed the life of a grade one pupil of Badian Central School.
Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Chief Cristina Giango admitted that the boy had the signs and symptoms of meningococcemia, including fever and rashes all over his body.
But Giango said whether or not the six-year-old boy had meningococcemia could not be confirmed yet.
The family refused to subject the boy’s body to an autopsy. Health officers also could not get blood samples because the boy has been dead for more than six hours already before the family reported the matter to the health unit.
As a preventive measure, Giango sent a team to Badian to conduct an information drive about the disease and to give antibiotics to those who had close contact with the boy.
The boy was immediately buried last Wednesday to prevent the spread of the disease in case he indeed suffered from meningococcemia.
The boy reportedly went to school last Tuesday but was sent home at noontime because he had fever.
In the evening, he continued to have chills and at dawn of Wednesday, he suffered a convulsion and died shortly.
Meningococcemia is the less common meningococcal infection brought by the bacteria Neisseria meningitides. The most common form of disease due to meningococcal infection is meningitis.
According to the Department of Health website, meningococcemia is caused by the spread of bacteria to the bloodstream, causing severe signs and symptoms.
Among the signs and symptoms of meningococcemia are fever, stiff neck and convulsion.
In severe cases, delirium, altered mental status, vomiting, cough, sore throat, other respiratory symptoms, pinpoint rashes that become wider and appear like bruises starting on the legs and arms, bruise-like patches and severe skin lesions also appear, which could result to gangrene and unstable vital signs.
In a radio dyAB report, Rennan Cimafranca of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit said that only three cases of meningococcemia were confirmed in Region 7 this year. (MBG)
