Sally Furniss
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Department of Health confirms 2nd flu case
By Sheila Crisostomo Updated May 25, 2009 12:00 AM
Dr. Cheryl Dumaliang shows to the media the isolation area for victims of A(H1N1) at the Lung Center in Quezon City yesterday. Boy SANTOS
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the country?s second case of Influenza A(H1N1) virus yesterday with a 50-year-old Filipina balikbayan from the United States contracting the disease.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the patient arrived in the country last Wednesday and went to a hospital the next day, complaining of a mild fever and cough.
Throat specimens taken from the patient were examined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa and tested positive for A(H1N1), Duque said.
?At present, she does not have symptoms. She was immediately started on medication and is currently being monitored. Efforts are also underway to trace all those who came in close contact with the second confirmed case,? Duque told a news conference yesterday.
He said the patient came from Chicago and traveled alone to the Philippines.
The woman was treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu and was rapidly recovering in a hospital, Duque said.
Eleven relatives whom she visited in the country have been advised to stay home for 10 days to see if they will develop flu symptoms.
All those she came in contact with during her flight to Manila were being traced, Duque said.
From the flight manifest, the DOH learned that 25 other passengers had been exposed to the woman seated within six feet from her.
Duque said the DOH was able to contact the 25 passengers and advised them to go on quarantine for 10 days.
?We?re stepping up our preparedness. We have been working around the clock,? he said.
DOH quarantine officer Mavic Vasquez said the woman?s household members have been advised to go on self-quarantine and were given antibiotics.
Duque confirmed the second swine flu case shortly after arriving from Geneva where he attended a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting on ways to contain the spread of swine flu.
He said a 10-year-old girl, who became the country?s first swine flu case last week, has almost fully recovered and could be discharged from the hospital soon.
Relatives of the girl who arrived in the country last week from the US and Canada remain under quarantine, Duque said.
About 15 other people undergoing tests had recently returned from trips abroad, he added.
?She will be discharged as soon as repeat (test of) Polymerase Chain Reaction for A (H1N1) is negative,? Duque said.
He also clarified that the Taiwanese mother and her five-year-old daughter who were found infected after traveling to the Philippines did not attend a yoga workshop here, contrary to reports of Taiwan health authorities.
Duque said the two just spent a ?short vacation? in the Philippines before returning to Taipei last Wednesday.
The DOH is trying to track down those who could have come in contact with the two.
No cause for alarm?
Since May 1, the DOH had observed 103 travelers, excluding the two confirmed cases, for manifesting A(H1N1) symptoms.
Of this figure, 88 have tested negative for the virus while laboratory tests of the rest remain pending.
Health authorities in Davao, on the other hand, reported two suspected A(H1N1) cases yesterday.
Davao Medical Center (DMC) administrator Leopoldo Vega said both male patients developed fever and other flu-like symptoms that forced them to be quarantined for further examination.
De Vega said one of the patients was a 27-year-old male who arrived from Macau, China while the other was a 41-year-old male who came from Indiana in the US.
He said one of the patients was transferred to the DMC isolation room after he was initially admitted at the Davao Doctors Hospital.
Duque, meanwhile, appealed to the public not to panic while underscoring the need to keep their guard up against the virus.
He reported that in the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva that health authorities have agreed to implement stronger public health systems ?that can detect and manage the cases early and provide fair and equitable access to drugs and other interventions at all levels of care with competent staff.?
While A(H1N1) appears to be mild at present, Duque warned it could turn more virulent.
Malaca?ang, on the other hand, said the presence of two reported swine flu cases in the country should not be a cause for alarm.
?Just because we have a confirmed case, does not mean the flu is widespread. As explained by health authorities, it has not reached community-level,? Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said.
Deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar added economic managers are still looking at the possible effects of a flu outbreak in the country.
Remonde however downplayed the possible effect of two reported swine flu cases on the country?s economy and tourism industry.
?We don?t see any serious effect on our economy, on our tourism industry, especially if we unite and follow the call of the President that we start individually, and our families to observe proper hygiene, proper sanitation, and cleanliness as those are basic in fighting any disease, including the A(H1N1) virus,? he said.
Remonde said President Arroyo would hold her Cabinet meeting tomorrow at the Department of Education (DepEd) to focus on the problems involving the opening of classes on June 1.
Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo would be visiting schools initially those located near Malaca?ang.
He said the President would be accompanied by Duque and other health officials.
?The President will hold dialogues with parents and teachers as part of promoting awareness especially when it comes to hygiene and sanitation because the best way to control the spread of any disease is really basic personal family and community hygiene and sanitation,? Remonde said.
?These are events to highlight the need for personal, family and community hygiene and sanitation,? he said.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, stressed the need for a stronger legislation on public health.
Sen. Edgardo Angara underscored the need for the enactment of the Philippine National Health Care System bill while Sen. Loren Legarda urged the government to take the initiative to contain the virus.
?Once a safe and effective vaccine (for the flu) has been developed, the government must fund the immediate immunization of Filipinos at most risk, including those who are in the front line of dealing with it,? Legarda said.
Legarda also urged drug companies to help the government in addressing the problem.
Angara said contingency planning may be difficult against the near global virus outbreak but the creation of the Philippine National Research Fund would help finance research on how to fight and contain the flu virus.
The WHO said over 12,000 cases of swine flu and 86 deaths have been reported in 42 countries. More than half of those cases have been reported in the US, while most of the deaths occurred in Mexico.
The WHO is poised to declare a full pandemic of the A(H1N1) flu virus.
WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan said on Friday the world had to be ready for the new swine flu to become more severe and kill more people.
The Philippines and other countries in Asia have yet to record any deaths from the virus, a strain that is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, bird and human viruses that spreads easily between people. The virus was first detected last month. ?With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, AP
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=471073&publicationSubCategoryId=63
By Sheila Crisostomo Updated May 25, 2009 12:00 AM
Dr. Cheryl Dumaliang shows to the media the isolation area for victims of A(H1N1) at the Lung Center in Quezon City yesterday. Boy SANTOS
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the country?s second case of Influenza A(H1N1) virus yesterday with a 50-year-old Filipina balikbayan from the United States contracting the disease.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the patient arrived in the country last Wednesday and went to a hospital the next day, complaining of a mild fever and cough.
Throat specimens taken from the patient were examined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa and tested positive for A(H1N1), Duque said.
?At present, she does not have symptoms. She was immediately started on medication and is currently being monitored. Efforts are also underway to trace all those who came in close contact with the second confirmed case,? Duque told a news conference yesterday.
He said the patient came from Chicago and traveled alone to the Philippines.
The woman was treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu and was rapidly recovering in a hospital, Duque said.
Eleven relatives whom she visited in the country have been advised to stay home for 10 days to see if they will develop flu symptoms.
All those she came in contact with during her flight to Manila were being traced, Duque said.
From the flight manifest, the DOH learned that 25 other passengers had been exposed to the woman seated within six feet from her.
Duque said the DOH was able to contact the 25 passengers and advised them to go on quarantine for 10 days.
?We?re stepping up our preparedness. We have been working around the clock,? he said.
DOH quarantine officer Mavic Vasquez said the woman?s household members have been advised to go on self-quarantine and were given antibiotics.
Duque confirmed the second swine flu case shortly after arriving from Geneva where he attended a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting on ways to contain the spread of swine flu.
He said a 10-year-old girl, who became the country?s first swine flu case last week, has almost fully recovered and could be discharged from the hospital soon.
Relatives of the girl who arrived in the country last week from the US and Canada remain under quarantine, Duque said.
About 15 other people undergoing tests had recently returned from trips abroad, he added.
?She will be discharged as soon as repeat (test of) Polymerase Chain Reaction for A (H1N1) is negative,? Duque said.
He also clarified that the Taiwanese mother and her five-year-old daughter who were found infected after traveling to the Philippines did not attend a yoga workshop here, contrary to reports of Taiwan health authorities.
Duque said the two just spent a ?short vacation? in the Philippines before returning to Taipei last Wednesday.
The DOH is trying to track down those who could have come in contact with the two.
No cause for alarm?
Since May 1, the DOH had observed 103 travelers, excluding the two confirmed cases, for manifesting A(H1N1) symptoms.
Of this figure, 88 have tested negative for the virus while laboratory tests of the rest remain pending.
Health authorities in Davao, on the other hand, reported two suspected A(H1N1) cases yesterday.
Davao Medical Center (DMC) administrator Leopoldo Vega said both male patients developed fever and other flu-like symptoms that forced them to be quarantined for further examination.
De Vega said one of the patients was a 27-year-old male who arrived from Macau, China while the other was a 41-year-old male who came from Indiana in the US.
He said one of the patients was transferred to the DMC isolation room after he was initially admitted at the Davao Doctors Hospital.
Duque, meanwhile, appealed to the public not to panic while underscoring the need to keep their guard up against the virus.
He reported that in the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting in Geneva that health authorities have agreed to implement stronger public health systems ?that can detect and manage the cases early and provide fair and equitable access to drugs and other interventions at all levels of care with competent staff.?
While A(H1N1) appears to be mild at present, Duque warned it could turn more virulent.
Malaca?ang, on the other hand, said the presence of two reported swine flu cases in the country should not be a cause for alarm.
?Just because we have a confirmed case, does not mean the flu is widespread. As explained by health authorities, it has not reached community-level,? Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said.
Deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar added economic managers are still looking at the possible effects of a flu outbreak in the country.
Remonde however downplayed the possible effect of two reported swine flu cases on the country?s economy and tourism industry.
?We don?t see any serious effect on our economy, on our tourism industry, especially if we unite and follow the call of the President that we start individually, and our families to observe proper hygiene, proper sanitation, and cleanliness as those are basic in fighting any disease, including the A(H1N1) virus,? he said.
Remonde said President Arroyo would hold her Cabinet meeting tomorrow at the Department of Education (DepEd) to focus on the problems involving the opening of classes on June 1.
Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo would be visiting schools initially those located near Malaca?ang.
He said the President would be accompanied by Duque and other health officials.
?The President will hold dialogues with parents and teachers as part of promoting awareness especially when it comes to hygiene and sanitation because the best way to control the spread of any disease is really basic personal family and community hygiene and sanitation,? Remonde said.
?These are events to highlight the need for personal, family and community hygiene and sanitation,? he said.
Lawmakers, meanwhile, stressed the need for a stronger legislation on public health.
Sen. Edgardo Angara underscored the need for the enactment of the Philippine National Health Care System bill while Sen. Loren Legarda urged the government to take the initiative to contain the virus.
?Once a safe and effective vaccine (for the flu) has been developed, the government must fund the immediate immunization of Filipinos at most risk, including those who are in the front line of dealing with it,? Legarda said.
Legarda also urged drug companies to help the government in addressing the problem.
Angara said contingency planning may be difficult against the near global virus outbreak but the creation of the Philippine National Research Fund would help finance research on how to fight and contain the flu virus.
The WHO said over 12,000 cases of swine flu and 86 deaths have been reported in 42 countries. More than half of those cases have been reported in the US, while most of the deaths occurred in Mexico.
The WHO is poised to declare a full pandemic of the A(H1N1) flu virus.
WHO chief Dr. Margaret Chan said on Friday the world had to be ready for the new swine flu to become more severe and kill more people.
The Philippines and other countries in Asia have yet to record any deaths from the virus, a strain that is a never-before-seen mixture of swine, bird and human viruses that spreads easily between people. The virus was first detected last month. ?With Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, AP
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=471073&publicationSubCategoryId=63