Baby in Anda dies of meningo
ANDA–Panic has gripped townsfolk here after an 11-month old baby girl has been confirmed to have died from the deadly meningococcemia virus.
The local health authorities have since identified relatives and other persons who had prior direct contact with the victim and are now being closely monitored.
Dr. Joseph Carpo, the town health officer, told The PUNCH Friday that measures have been adopted to avert the possible spread of the disease.
He said that as soon as his office received the report about the death of Elaine Clave, dosages of prophylaxis, a preventive medicine, were purchased immediately to help contain the deadly disease and administered it to those who had contacts with the baby prior to her death.
Mayor Nestor Pulido told The PUNCH in a separate interview that he authorized the purchase of medicines immediately to control its spread.
“We are planning to place the town under a state of calamity so we could use our calamity fund for this,” he added.
Carpo warned that “this is airborne and could lead to the death of a patient in barely 24 hours.”
Clave died in 24-hours after she was brought to the hospital last Saturday, Carpo said.
At presstime, no sign of infection was noted among Clave’s immediate family members, the hospital workers and the embalmer who attended to her.
Clave’s attending physicians, a certain Dr. Tongson and her pediatrician, a Dr. Castanio, from the Western Pangasinan District Hospital in Alaminos City where the victim was brought for treatment, certified in her death certificate that her cause of death was meningococcemia.
Carpo confirmed the finding based on physical signs and symptoms as Clave suffered high fever and her body bore rashes and bruises similar to hematoma.
He pointed out, however, that no further laboratory tests have been made to confirm it.
The victim’s body was interred two days later and her coffin was doubly sealed.
Efforts are being made to contact the family’s recent visitors from Manila, Lingayen and Bani prior to Clave’s death.
An information and education campaign among the people in Barangay Mal-ong here where Clave lived. Mal-ong has about 2,000 residents. #
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