Fluids, vitamins help keep meningo away

STAY away from crowded places. Regularly take liquid and vitamins to keep your body resistance strong.

Dr. Susanna Madarieta, Department of Health in Central Visayas regional director, gave these tips to prevent from having meningococcemia.

“The bacteria can be inhaled anywhere, mostly in crowded areas,” Madarieta said.

She said that people with low resistance especially children are the most vulnerable to the diseases.

DOH-7 confirmed two cases of meningococcemia this year in Cebu.

The patients were 2-year-olds from Dumanjug town, southwest Cebu, and Mandaue City.

Madarieta confirmed the cause of the child’s death from Dumajug after laboratory results showed the presence of the bacteria in the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) of the child.

Meningococcemia is a life-threatening bacterial infection of the bloodstream. The bacteria usually lives in the upper respiratory tract without causing obvious signs of illness. It is spread through coughing or sneezing.

Other symptoms are purple rashes in the skin, bleeding and high fever.  Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya