3 die of meningococcemia in Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Two were confirmed to have died of meningococcemia here last week while another child died of the same bacterial infection in nearby Tagoloan, Misamis Occidental.

Dr. Fe Bongcas, the city health officer, made the confirmation on Tuesday.

Among the fatalities was a grade one pupil here, who was immediately buried upon the advise of physicians at a government-run hospital, a kin said.

An uncle of the dead child was brought to the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) on Thursday and died the following day.

The identities of the source and of the victim were being withheld.

“It was sudden. The day before [the child] had a fever, [the child] even went to school,” the source told reporters.

The source said doctors at NMMC instructed the child’s father to put the body in a body bag and bury it right away.

As a precaution, those who had contacts with the child, including schoolmates, shortly before the child was diagnosed with the illness were given antibiotics.

Health experts said meningococcemia is an infection caused by the neisseria meningitidis bacteria. TVJ