Firecracker injuries jump from 78 to 145, says DOH

The number of firecracker and stray bullet injuries, as well as watusi poisoning, rose to 145 cases yesterday even as the Department of Health (DOH) reiterated its appeal to the public to welcome the New Year using other noisemaking devices.

This includes 61 cases — one stray bullet case, 56 firecracker injuries, and four children brought to the hospital for watusi (dancing firecracker) poisoning — registered over the weekend, according to Dr. Jose Ramoncito Navarro, training officer at the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center.

Last Friday, the DOH registered only 78 firecracker injuries, four stray bullet cases, and two watusi poisonings under its annual "Iwas Paputok" program.

The DOH is conducting a surveillance of injuries from firecrackers and stray bullets in 50 hospitals all over the country under the program, which started Dec. 21 and will end Jan. 2.

"These hospitals kept the most patients. The surveillance is meant to give us a good picture of what’s happening. It will guide us in making decisions on what to do next so it has to be quick," Navarro said.

Navarro said if the trend does not taper off, the number of cases may reach more than one thousand, or double the 504 cases recorded by the DOH during the previous surveillance period — from late December 2002 to Jan. 2, 2003.

"We hope to intensify our campaign against the use of firecrackers and guns during the New Year revelry. We don’t want more injuries and deaths from these," he added.

Navarro noted that those poisoned by watusi sticks — packaged and colored like candy — were children below 10 years old, and that one of the victims of stray bullets was a 10-year-old boy from Cebu.

The youngest patient brought in for firecracker injuries is a 10-month-old infant from San Fernando, La Union who was injured by a hand-held "sparkler" last Sunday. The eldest is 89 years old.

Navarro said most of those injured by firecrackers came from Quezon City, Manila and Pangasinan.

However, he could not say why the number of injuries from firecrackers and stray bullets continue to rise but noted that there are "hearsays or feedbacks" on possible reasons for the increase.

"The burning issue here is the increasing (number). We have not pinpointed the reason for this but they say that the campaign ads are not visible and that firecrackers now are more affordable but of poorer quality," Navarro said.

He explained that this means firecrackers in the market now may explode prematurely, injuring people handling them. — With Marichu Villanueva