Firecracker-related injuries rise to almost 70 in less than a week

FIRECRACKER-RELATED injuries in the Philippines have risen to nearly 70 in less than a week, the Department of Health (DoH) said on Thursday.

Data from 62 sentinel sites, under DoH monitoring, showed that 26 injuries were registered today, bringing the total number of cases to 69 between Dec. 22 to 26.

Of this, 58 involved individuals aged 19 and below, while the rest were aged 20 and above, the DoH said in a statement.

Most of the users and victims of firecrackers were children and minors, the Health department said.

It said 86% of the victims used illegal firecrackers such as boga or a PVC cannon.

Moreover, DoH reported 65 patients with firecracker injuries were male while four were female.

Using firecrackers could lead to amputation of body parts, hearing loss, blindness, poisoning, burns, permanent lung damage, and even death from severe injuries, according to the health agency.

DoH noted that boga, 5-Star, and piccolo were the leading causes of fireworks-related injuries. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza