MANILA – Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday urged all those who were injured by firecrackers during the New Year celebrations to go to the nearest health facility immediately and have themselves checked for tetanus.
“Blast wound injuries have always been closely associated with tetanus infection, a serious health problem that should be prevented or dealt with as soon as possible,” Duque said in a statement.
Tetanus infection, which occurs when spores of the Clostridium tetani bacterium enter the body through wounds or cuts in the skin, has an incubation period of three to 21 days.
“It would surely mean an increase in our injury tally, but I urge all our countrymen who have suffered these injuries to come in for treatment,” Duque said.
The health chief earlier assured those injured of medical assistance under PhilHealth.
“Para doon naman sa hindi miyembro ng PhilHealth ay sasagutin din ng DOH ang gastusin nila sa pamamaraan ng medical assistance program (The DOH, through its medical assistance program, will also shoulder the expenses of non-PhilHealth members),” he said in a press briefing at the East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City last January 1.
“Wala po silang dapat alalahanin. Wala dapat silang problema patungkol sa kanilang gastusin. Ang importante po gumaling sila sa lalong madaling panahon (They need not worry about expenses. What is important is for them to get well at the soonest possible time),” Duque said.