Fewer firecracker injuries due to rains

MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE 2) Rainy weather "dampened the excitement" of people who celebrated New Year's Eve, resulting in a lower number of injuries caused by fireworks and stray bullets than in previous years, the Department of Health said Thursday.

In a press conference, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that as of 8 a.m. Thursday, a total of 346 injuries related to fireworks and stray bullet wounds were reported from its 50 sentinel sites nationwide.

The figure is 88 cases or 25 percent lower than the cases reported in 2007 and is 417 cases or 55 percent lower than the four-year average, Duque said.

Of the number of casualties in 2008, 335 were firecracker blasts and eye injuries, nine were wounds from stray bullets and two were from ingestion of watusi firecrackers, the health chief said.

Among those who sustained injuries caused by firecrackers, the DOH reported that 77 percent were males with ages ranging from 8 months to 72 years of age. Most of the victims were reported in Metro Manila and half of the victims were passive bystanders while 38 percent were children less than 10 years old, said the DOH.

The DOH added that 18 of the victims had to undergo amputations.

Duque said that the locally-made "piccolo" topped the list of dangerous firecrackers, causing 67 injuries. It was followed by "kwitis" which injured 38 persons, "five star" which wounded 32, "luces" which injured 23 and the "whistle bomb" which wounded 16.

The DOH reported that an eight-year-old boy from Project 8 Quezon City suffered extreme blast injuries after picking up a dud Pla-pla firecracker which resulted in the amputation of his right hand. The victim is currently being treated in the East Avenue Medical Center.

No deaths were reported, Duque said. However, the National Capital Region Police Office reported one person dead in a separate report.

However, Dr. Enrico Tayag of the DOH’s Epidemiology Center clarified that the deceased person reported by the NCRPO was dead on arrival at the Tondo General Hospital and the victim died due to “airway obstruction” and that no obvious wound marks from firecrackers were evident.

However, Duque said that the number of casualties is still expected to increase in the coming days hence all government hospitals remain on “code white alert,” the highest alert level for health facilities, until January 5.

“The extended public holiday and the festivities-halting rainy weather may propel more people to light firecrackers until the long weekend,” Duque said.

The health chief added that Filipinos in general may have tightened their belts in preparation for the onset of the financial crisis in 2009 hence few people bought firecrackers, which may also have contributed to the decrease in the statistic of injured persons this year.

Duque also attributed the drop to the department's intensified safety campaign, which included television commercials and posters with gory images of firecracker accident victims.

Duque also asked local government units to do an immediate clean-up to prevent children from picking up stray firecrackers.

Meanwhile, the DOH and the Philippine National police recorded nine injuries caused by stray bullets which is five cases lower than the same period in 2007.