ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas logged four cases of firecracker blast injuries from Dec. 21 to 24.
One of the four cases was logged in a DOH sentinel hospital while three were from non-sentinel hospitals, data from the DOH-6 Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) showed.
In a sentinel hospital, particularly at Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital, the case was an eight-year-old boye from Iloilo province. He lit a 5-star firecracker which resulted to a burn but with no amputation.
The case was treated and sent home.
Meanwhile, in non-sentinel hospitals, the three cases were treated at the Bago City Hospital and Binalbagan Infirmary in Negros Occidental and at the Ramon Tabiana Memorial District Hospital in Cabatuan, Iloilo.
Two of the cases were male and female aged between 11 to 20 years old while the other one was a male aged between 1 to 10 years old. Two of them were active cases or they were the ones who lit the firecrackers that caused them injuries while the other one was passive or just a watcher or passerby.
RESU data further showed that the common causes of injury was boga or “PVC cannon” – a modern version of the bamboo cannon – while the common injury was eye injury.
DOH’s surveillance and monitoring of firecracker-related incidents started Dec. 21, 2022 and will last until Jan. 5, 2023./PN
