8-year-old Batangas pupil dies of meningo

Batangas, Philippines  â€“ An eight-year-old girl died of meningococcemia in Bauan town here last Monday, according to health authorities.

Municipal health officer Victor Bejer said the victim, a Grade 3 pupil of the Manghinao Elementary School, experienced symptoms of meningococcemia last Feb. 28 and was rushed to the Bauan Doctors Hospital and later transferred to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine where she died. 

Bejer said a 14-year-old boy also died of meningococcemia in September last year, while a six-year-old girl survived from the ailment.

Although the three cases are in Bauan, Bejer said there is no outbreak of meningococcemia in the town.

Bejer called on the provincial and national government to provide them with the needed medicine and prophylaxis for at least two of their barangays.

Bejer said they were able to give vaccinations to the eight-year-old girl’s classmates and teachers at the Manghinao Elementary School as well as her parents and neighbors who had had close contact with her.

Bejer said the Manghinao Elementary School has at least 1,300 students who are also seeking vaccination, not to include their respective parents and teachers. 

Bejer said he has asked the help of local and provincial officials, the provincial health office, and the Department of Health but assistance has come in trickles.

Meningococcemia is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria that thrive in a person’s upper respiratory tract without causing visible signs of illness.

The bacteria can be spread from person to person through respiratory droplets from sneezing or coughing.

There may be few symptoms at first, including fever, headache, irritability, muscle pain, nausea and rash with red or purple spots.