Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center File hoto
A male patient from Danao City who died of meningococcemia at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center last Aug. 16 was the first confirmed case in Cebu of the deadly viral infection this year.
Rennan Cimafranca, chief of the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) said the patient, a married man from barangay Caputatan, Danao City, had fever and a headache when brought to the provincial hospital in Danao City last Aug. 15.
The man was transferred to VSMMC at noon of Aug. 16 and died in the afternoon.
Specimen
Laboratory test results of the patient’s specimen released last Aug. 21 confirmed that he contracted meningococcemia
Cimafranca said there was one suspected case in Cebu City earlier this year, but no laboratory test was done on the patient’s specimen to verify it.
The patient from Danao City had no history of travel abroad, Cimafranca said.
While investigation is ongoing, Cimafranca said his office instructed the Danao City health office to monitor the patient’s immediate family, his neighbors and other persons who had close contact with him before his death.
Illness
He said the patient’s close circle and neighbors were already vaccinated.
They will be monitored for symptoms for 10 days.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), meningococcemia or meningococcal septicemia is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria which infects a person’s bloodstream and multiplies, damaging the walls of the blood vessels causing bleeding in the skin and organs.
The virus thrives in a person’s upper respiratory tract without causing visible signs of illness.
It can spread from person to person since the virus is airborne.
Symptoms may include fatigue, vomiting, cold hands and feet, cold chills, severe aches or pain in the muscles, joints, chest or abdomen (belly), rapid breathing and diarrhea. Patients also develop a dark purple skin rash.
Deaths can occur in as little as few hours.
In non-fatal cases, permanent disabilities can include amputation of toes, fingers, or limbs or severe scarring as a result of skin grafts.
Cimafranca urged those who experience any of these symptoms to immediately seek treatment.
Cebu Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale called for calm after hearing about the report.
She said while there’s no outbreak, anyone who exhibits meningo symptoms must undergo treatment.
“It’s not yet an epidemic but due to its nature, we are very careful about this. Anyway, there is no need to panic,” Magpale said.
She said she was told by the secretary of the Danao City Council about the case.
Provincial Health Officer Cynthia Genosolango said there were three patients from Danao City who were initially suspected of having meningococcemia. /With Reporter Peter L. Romanillos and Correspondent Carine M. Asutilla
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