MANILA, Philippines – At least 891 people were injured by firecrackers and stray bullets during the New Year revelry, the Department of Health said Monday.
Based on the latest DOH data, 844 people were injured by firecrackers, 36 were hit by stray bullets and 11 were hurt after ingesting firecrackers.
The casualty count is 13% lower than last year’s total of 1,028 casualties, according to Dr. Eric Tayag of the DOH’s National Epidemiology Center.
Tayag said the leading cause of injuries is piccolo, followed by kwitis and 5-star.
He said most of the victims waited for 5 days before going to the hospital for treatment.
The DOH is now on tetanus alert in anticipation of the surge of complications from untreated firecracker injuries. Tayag said they are treating all victims of firecrackers as serious cases.
Manifestations of tetanus come out as early as 3 days to one month. Among the symptoms of tetanus are headache,lockjaw, high fever and weakness.
"Yung mga galing na sa ospital na naputukan dapat nyong tiyakin na nabigyan kayo ng anti tetanus na bakuna. Kung wala, kailangan niyong bumalik," he said.