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Monday, November 22, 2004
No 'state of emergency' amid blood disease scare
By Rimaliza Opiņa
BAGUIO CITY -- Local officials here see no need to declare Baguio City in a state of emergency, as no additional deaths from meningococcemia were reported as of Sunday afternoon.
Mayor Braulio Yaranon said Sunday the other patients admitted together with the four who died from the bacterial disease within two days after getting admitted to the hospital were now on the way to recovery.
With this development, Yaranon said he saw no reason to declare the city under a state of emergency.
Health experts on Friday had considered declaring an outbreak of meningococcemia following the death in a matter of 48 hours of four persons showing signs and symptoms of the disease.
Meningococcemia is a communicable disease caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningitidis.
It is an acute infection of the bloodstream leading to the inflammation of the blood vessels.
The bacteria frequently lives in the upper respiratory tract of an individual without causing harm to that person until something triggers its aggressive behavior resulting in sporadic cases of meningococcemia and meningococcal meningitis.
The mayor said that when news of the meningococcemia cases first broke out, the City Government quickly mobilized barangay health workers to teach residents how to steer clear of the illness.
The city's quick response made sure the disease was immediately contained.
Yaranon said there is now no cause for alarm.
Quoting health experts, the mayor said the disease is curable if treated immediately, adding that those who died were the ones who were brought for treatment when the bacterial disease was already in its advanced stage.
As to the impact of the incident on the city's tourism industry, the mayor said this is something that could not be avoided.
Several big hotels in the city had reported a decline in or pulling out of reservations following reports of the disease in Baguio.
President Arroyo's government is optimistic, though, that the city would be able to bounce back.
An Arroyo aide, Silvestre Afable Jr., said authorities were on top of the situation.
He lauded the move of local officials to immediately conduct an information drive to educate the public about the disease.
He also said it was not certain if the cases in Manila were connected with those in Baguio.
Baguio health officials said they are not monitoring the developments of the case of a six-month-old baby, who was discovered to be exhibiting some of the symptoms of the bacterial disease.
Symptoms of the meningococcemia include headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, stiff neck, neck and back pains, appearance of rashes or small red and purple spots (in 50 to 75 percent of cases), vomiting, seizures, nerve palsies, and gait disturbance.
The mode of transmission of the disease is through droplets coming from the mouth and nose while incubation period ranges from two to 10 days.
City Health Officer Dr. Florence Reyes told Sun.Star that specimens were already taken from the infant and sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Metro Manila for examination.
The test would determine if the infant has the disease.
Reyes declined to provide details as to how the child could have acquired the disease, pending the confirmation from the RITM.
Also, a 19-year-old female patient hospitalized at the Baguio General Hospital was placed under tight watch after she failed to respond to medications.
Dr. Rowena Galpo, assistant city health officer, also declined to profile the patient, as this might cause alarm to residents living in the patient's barangay.
There have been five deaths reported from meningococcemia as of November 7.
(November 22, 2004 issue)
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