Protecting Filipinos against meningococcal disease

In October 2004, a hospital in northern Luzon began admitting a growing number of patients with fever, rashes, diarrhea, vomiting, neck rigidity, seizures, and other alarming symptoms.

- TEODORO B. PADILLA

All were diagnosed with meningococcal disease. By the end of January 2005, 98 cases and 32 deaths had been recorded or a fatality rate of 33%.In February 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed an outbreak of serogroup A meningococcal disease in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), marking the largest such outbreak in Philippine history.

Meningococcal disease is a rapidly progressive bacterial infection that can lead to meningitis or meningococcemia, a severe bloodstream infection. The outbreak stemmed from a hypervirulent Neisseria meningitidis strain that caused both conditions.

"The outbreak caused intense fear, panic, and public anxiety," recalled pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Elizabeth Escaño-Gallardo during the Health Connect media forum. The memory of that period underscores a reality that remains relevant today. It means that when public health emergencies strike, preparedness, coordination, and trust in institutions determine whether lives are saved or lost.

As the country marks National Health Emergency Preparedness Day on Dec. 6, the outbreak offers lessons for strengthening the Philippines' capacity to manage high-risk infectious diseases. Dr. Gallardo shared how local government health authorities, the medical community, Department of Health (DoH), and WHO came together to contain the meningococcal disease outbreak. She emphasized lessons gleaned from this successful multisectoral collaboration.