DOH: There is no meningococcemia outbreak

 MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday assured the public that there is no meningococcemia outbreak in the country.

The health agency issued the statement in response to rumors on social media that there is an outbreak of the deadly disease in the country after a two-year-old girl in Valenzuela City died allegedly because of the disease.

“There is no reported meningococcemia outbreak in the country,” the DOH said in a statement.

https://twitter.com/officialdohgov/status/1085767245509275648

The DOH, however, said that it is investigating the suspected meningococcemia case where the two-year-old patient exhibited signs and symptoms of the disease.

She was rushed to hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

“Our team has collected laboratory specimens and is still awaiting results, as of this writing. We are closely coordinating with our regional office for contact tracing,” the DOH said.

The health agency also said that it has provided post-exposure prophylaxis to individuals who has close contact with the girl and monitoring them for signs and symptoms, including fever, vomiting, rashes and loose bowel movement.

The local government of Valenzuela City earlier said that the patient was negative of meningococcemia./gsg

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