Did Cebu woman die of meningococcemia?

CARMEN, Cebu – A 60-year-old woman was believed to have died of the infectious disease meningococcemia early this week, creating a stir in the small, quiet barangay Liang here.    

But the Department of Health (DOH) 7 has that it has not confirmed yet whether or not Alicia Hermosa, a resident of barangay Liang, Carmen, Cebu, indeed died of meningococcemia as the hospital where the victim died allegedly failed to conduct the necessary laboratory examination on the victim.

“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 DOH 7 Director Susana Madarieta.

Hermosa was rushed to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City after relatives noted several red 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 revealed that the victim had symptoms of meningococcemia but 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.