Boy dies of meningococcemia in Marikina

A four-year-old boy died in a hospital in Marikina City from what doctors believe to be meningococcemia.

Dr. Ricardo Lustre, director of the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center (ARMC), ordered hospital staff to trace the last persons who made contact with the victim, Richard Aure, so they could be given proper medical attention.

Aure, of Barangay San Isidro in Antipolo City, was rushed to the hospital last Sunday but was later declared as dead on arrival. His body was sealed to prevent the bacteria from spreading.

Lustre said the ARMC refused to accept incoming patients as hospital staff quarantined the emergency room and other areas where Aure’s body passed. The hospital resumed normal operations at 4 a.m. yesterday, 15 hours after Aure’s arrival at the ARMC.

Lustre instructed hospital personnel to wear surgical masks and take medicine to avoid being infected with meningococcemia, an acute and potentially fatal infection of the bloodstream.

Respiratory droplets released by an infected person who sneezes or coughs can spread the bacterium that causes the disease.   – Non Alquitran