Photo by Matikas Santos/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines – Despite the government’s repeated warnings against using pyrotechnic products in greeting the New Year, the number of firecracker-related injuries during the holiday revelry increased to 599 in 2014 as compared to the 419 in 2013, a statement from the Department of Health said.
The National Epidemiology Center made the count, saying the figure was 43% higher than of last year’s revelry.
The center received the injury reports Wednesday morning from 50 sentinel hospitals in the country which started the count last December 21, 2013.
Of the total injuries, 589 (98.3%) were from firecracker blasts, one (0.2%) from ingestion, and nine (1.5%) from stray bullets.
According to DOH, the highest number of injuries came from Metro Manila with 345 (58%) and the closest was from Region IV-A with 50 (8%).
Regions I and VIII had 35 (6%) and 11 (5%) reported incidents respectively.
Kids are common victims
Of the total firecracker-related injuries, 479 (81%) were males from one-year-old the youngest to 74-years-old the oldest.
Children below 10-years-old were the common victims of firecrackers with 143 (24%) which was a better record than 2012 when 31% of the all the injured belonged in the age bracket.
DOH added that bystanders who were injured were relatively fewer with 214 (36%) getting injured compared to 44% of 2012 injured count.
In the statement, the Health Department reported that there were fewer blast injuries that needed amputations compared to 2012 with 504 (84%) getting discharged of hospitals not needing any bone-cutting.
Only eight people needed amputation for their injuries compared to 2013’s 13. However, eye injuries rose to 86 from last year’s 78.
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