A six-year-old student died of meningococcemia over the weekend, causing panic among her classmates and their parents at the Diosdado Macapagal Elementary School in Tatalon, Quezon City yesterday.
The victim, a grade one student, was able to go to school Friday morning but was sent home after she was found to be feverish.
At around 7 p.m., she was rushed to the National Children’s Medical Center but was transferred to the San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila four hours later after she developed rashes.
Dr. Irene Grafil, chief epidemiologist of the Quezon City Health Department, said the girl died early morning Saturday.
“Her blood test turned out negative (for meningococcemia) but based on clinical symptoms, it was meningo,” she told The STAR.
Many parents of the victim’s schoolmates panicked and tried to fetch their children from school for fear that they will also contract the disease. This prompted school officials to hold a forum to explain the situation.
Grafil noted that they have distributed prophylactic antibiotics to the victim’s classmates and those who had close contact with her in their household to protect them against the disease.
She added that there is no need for parents to panic and that it would be better for their children to go to school today so they could be monitored by health authorities. – Sheila Crisostomo