Overweight child dies of dengue; cases on the rise in Cebu City

DESPITE having asthma and weighing 33 kilos or as heavy as a 13-year-old boy, six-year-old Jzahrix John Becalas was as active as any child his age.

Less than 24 hours after he was admitted at the Cebu City Medical Center, Jzahrix died of dengue fever.

The CCMC said they received seven to eight admissions of dengue fever cases in the past few weeks.

Last Tuesday registered the highest rate, with 10 dengue cases in less than 24 hours.

Jzahrix’s mother Jenny said she never thought her son’s weight became a problem until last Monday evening, when they rushed him to the CCMC for dengue fever.

Two weeks ago, Jzahrix had fever, but he recovered two days later and returned to the Guadalupe Elementary School.

Last Wednesday evening, he had fever again and he was brought to a pediatrician.

The doctor told Jenny that Jzahrix’s fever triggered his asthma and caused him to have sore throat.

The doctor prescribed antibiotics for Jzahrix and by Thursday night, the fever was gone.

Critical

But on Friday night, Jzahrix body temperature went up again and by Saturday night the fever was gone but he was already complaining of stomach pain.

Last Monday’s tests done on Jzahrix showed that he had dengue fever.

“Critical na siya ato nga time,” (he was already critical that time). I never thought he had dengue because he was so healthy and he seldom gets sick,” the mother said.

She said her son may have been bitten by a dengue-carrying mosquito outside their home since they have a neighbor who was also sick with dengue a few weeks ago.

Dr. Lee James Maratas, head of the CCMC pediatric ward said obesity is among the risk factors of dengue fever.

“He was taken to us too late already. We did the fluid resuscitation but the patient no longer responded,” he said.

“You cannot use the actual body weight. If obese, the ideal weight for his age will be used to the patient. Because if not, the patient will suffer from fluid overload, which is a common cause of death for patients with dengue,” Maratas added.

The number of dengue cases being handled by CCMC as of Tuesday morning reached to 29. The hospital’s dengue lane only has a 24-bed capacity.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama called on parents to bring their children to the hospital immediately if they display any symptoms of dengue fever. Correspondents Carine M. Asutilla and Christine Emily L. Pantaleon