THE emergency room of Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC) in Tondo, Manila, was temporarily closed for disinfection after a patient with suspected meningococcemia was admitted there.
Dr. Eduardo Serrano Jr., head of the Division of Preventable Diseases of the Manila Health Department, said the emergency room would be opened again Wednesday, Jan. 23.
He said they will release on Friday the results of the confirmatory test conducted on the patient.
“After eight to 12 hours bubuksan na ulit ‘yung ER ng hospital. Nag-a-undergo kasi ng dialysis ‘yung patient, may sakit siya sa kidney. Then we noticed nga na may malalaki siyang pasa lalo na sa paa. As of today, ililipat ‘yung patient sa ibang hospital,” he said.
However, Dr. Luisa Aquino, director of the hospital, clarified that the emergency room will remain closed.
“The emergency room of Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center is temporarily closed as part of standard safety procedure and infection control protocol because of a patient with suspected meningoccal infection,” Dr. Aquino said in a statement.
“Any news disseminated in social media with the information that is not from Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center Official Facebook Page is not reliable,” she added.
She hoped to resume the hospital’s room operations by tomorrow.
Dr. Rolan Mendiola, senior house officer of GABMMC, said the closure of the emergency room is part of hospital protocol and disinfection procedure.
He said are awaiting the results of the confirmatory test to determine if the patient has indeed contracted the illness.
Mendiola said that the 55-year-old patient from Santa Ana, Manila, has had fever for three to five days and developed rashes, which are among the symptoms of meningococemia.
The patient has been placed in the isolation room.
“Yung confirmatory test hinihintay natin iyon, kaya lang usually ang blood culture confirmation medyo matagal usually mga five days. Kaya suspect pa, wala pang confirmation,” said Mendiola.
It can be recalled that the Valenzuela City government announced on Jan. 17 that the one-year-old girl who died at the Valenzuela City Emergency Hospital (VCEH) tested negative for meningococcemia.
The Department of Health (DoH) also said last Thursday that there is no reported meningococcemia outbreak in the Philippines.
Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo assured that all persons who had been in contact with the suspected meningococcemia patient had been traced and given antibiotics.
Around 200 cases of meningococcemia are recorded in the Philippines every year.
According to the World Health Organization, meningococcemia is caused by the bacteria Neisseria meningtidis which are very fragile and cannot survive in natural conditions outside the human body.
According to the DoH website, this disease is characterized by sudden onset of high fever for 24 hours; stiff neck; convulsion in some; delirium; altered mental status; vomiting; cough; sore throat; other respiratory symptoms; pinpoint rashes that become wider and appear like bruises starting on the legs and arms; large map-like, bruise-like patches; severe skin lesions that may lead to gangrene; and unstable vital signs. (Analou de Vera, Erma Edera)