Illegal firecrackers still top cause of injuries: DOH

MANILA – Some 30 of the 42 people so far injured by firecrackers were handling illegal fireworks.

“Twenty-six or 62 percent were caused by the Piccolo, an illegal firework,” Department of Health (DOH) Epidemiology Bureau director, Dr. Irma Asuncion, said in the sixth Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction 2017 Report submitted to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III Wednesday.

The Piccolo, a small stick filled with gunpowder and is lit like a match, is known as the most dangerous firecracker in the country, causing 69 out of 116 firecracker-related injuries as of Dec. 30 last year. It ignites prematurely at times and is sometimes ingested by children.

Day 6 of the monitoring of firecracker-related injuries nationwide saw 13 new cases, bringing to 42 the total number of injured since surveillance began last December 21.

More than half or 24 of the injuries occurred in the National Capital Region, with Manila having the most number of cases at 16.

Asuncion said 39 of the injured were male, 33 occurred on the streets, and majority of the injuries or 31 involved the hands, three of which required the amputation of fingers.

There is still no case of firework ingestion and stray bullet injury.

The reports were gathered by 43 DOH sentinel hospitals tasked to provide accurate data on injuries caused by firecrackers during the holiday season. (Leilani Junio/PNA)

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