CARMEN, Cebu – The Department of Health (DoH) Region 7 Thursday sent personnel to a small barangay in Carmen town after receiving reports that a 60-year-old woman there had died of meningococcemia, a fatal transmittable disease.

But DoH 7 director Susana Madarieta said it was not yet confirmed that Alicia Hermosa, a resident of barangay Liang, Carmen, had died of meningococcemia, as no laboratory tests had yet been conducted.

“We can only conclude if it was really meningococcemia that killed the patient if she was made to undergo the necessary laboratory examination, including blood sample culturing, skin scraping, and spinal fluid analysis,” said Madarieta.

Hermosa was rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City after relatives noted several rashes all over the patient’s body last Monday. Upon her arrival at the government-owned hospital, Hermosa died.

A nurse at the district hospital where Hermosa was first brought said the victim showed symptoms of meningococcemia although Madarieta said there was no official record to show that the old woman indeed died of the dreaded bacterial disease.

The disease is also called meningococcal meningitis or cerebrospinal fever. The disease is characterized by sudden onset of high grade fever lasting for 24 hours. Other signs and symptoms are rashes appearing within 24 hours after onset of fever, and signs of meningeal irritation such as: headache, nausea and vomiting, stiff neck, bulging fontanel (among infants), seizure or convulsions, and sensorial changes.

One of the clear symptoms of meningococcemia is the manifestation of red spotting all over the patient’s body, said Madarieta.

Within two days, the patient could die if not given immediate medical attention.

As a precaution, Madarieta sent a team to Barangay Liang to give antibiotics to the family and relatives of Hermosa, including neighbors who had contact with the patient prior to her death.

Medical personnel will be monitoring the health conditions of the family and relatives of the patient for the next few days, she said.

“There is no need to worry, though, because every year, there is an average of three persons who contract meningococcemia in Cebu,” said Madarieta.

Hermosa’s was the first suspected case of meningococcemia in Cebu and the entire Central Visayas this year, Madarieta said.

She advised people to stay away from very crowded places, especially during the summer season, to avoid contracting the fatal bacteria.

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