2 Pinoys, 3 foreigners under observation for swine flu

MANILA, Philippines – Five people are currently under observation for Influenza A(H1N1) infection, the Department of Health said yesterday.       

Two Filipinos and three foreigners are being observed in three DOH hospitals for fever, a symptom of A(H1N1), Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said yesterday.

Duque noted that two of the patients – a 32-year-old male who is an overseas Filipino worker from Ireland and a 26-year-old female foreigner who came from the United Kingdom – are confined at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu.

The others who were quarantined are a 12-year-old girl and a nine-year-old from South Korea who have been brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa, and a 29-year-old Filipino from the United States who is being observed at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

One of the foreigners had developed a cough and fever.

The swab samples collected from the patients’ throats are being examined at the RITM to determine if they are have been infected with A(H1N1).

“We can get the results in 24 to 48 hours... There is no reason to panic. We don’t have any case of A(H1N1). What is important is that we understand what the government is doing,” he maintained in a press briefing.

Meanwhile, the results of tests conducted on the patients confined in the VSMMC in Cebu will be out today, DOH Emergency Management Coordinator Dr. Expedito Medalla yesterday said.

Medalla said the case of the woman foreigner is improving and her cough was already gone but she will still be isolated until the results come out from the RITM today.

The male Filipino patient, on the other hand, is still under close monitoring due to his recurrent fever, Medalla said.

According to Duque, five persons had earlier been suspected to have A(H1N1) infection but eventually tested negative for the virus.

These individuals have a “history of travel” to Switzerland, the US, Ireland, Canada and Italy. They also manifested fever.

“Ten cases were under observation since May 1... Four of them were Filipinos while the rest were foreigners. Their ages ranged from nine to 80 years old, and seven of them were males while three were females,” he added.

Duque said that in case any of the five “pending” cases turns out positive for A(H1N1), the DOH will send their samples to Australia, Japan or to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta for verification.

But when the DOH gets the CDC’s primer on how to compare A(H1N1) with other influenza viruses, the country will no longer have to send samples abroad.

This as Duque announced that he will attend the Special ASEAN Health Ministers’ Meeting on A(H1N1) in Thailand which will be attended by health officials from Japan, South Korea and China.

“We will be comparing our pandemic preparedness plan, we will share notes. We’ll know what each country is doing in terms of setting up screening, stockpiling, surveillance and adequacy of personal protective equipment,” he added.

The health ministers are expected to come up with a resolution that will be presented during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 18 to 27.

The DOH advised those who suspect they have the virus or are feeling the symptoms to contact the Operation Center-Health Emergency Management Service at the following numbers: 711-1001, 711-1002, 0915-772-5621 and 0921-592-2361 and National Epidemiology Center-DOH at 743-1937.

170,000 Filipinos to die in case of outbreak

The feared A(H1N1) virus could kill up to 170,000 Filipinos in case of an outbreak in the country, Rep. Walden Bello of the party-list group Akbayan said on Tuesday night.

“According to Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the National Epidemiology Center of the DOH, if the virus spreads in the Philippines, a realistic estimate is that infections could reach 1.7 million and deaths would come to 170,000,” he told his colleagues.

Tayag briefed the committee on health of the House of Representatives on the measures the DOH is taking to prevent an outbreak. He was asked about a worst-case scenario.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo and some of her Cabinet members yesterday walked through the thermal scanner of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) like ordinary passengers of flight PR 001 upon their arrival from a 5-day official trip to Egypt and Syria.

First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, together with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa, newly appointed AFP chief of staff Victor Ibrado welcomed the President, and watched in amusement as she walked past the thermal scanner.

Meanwhile, senators called on the government to implement long-term measures to address health problems such as the possible outbreak of the A(H1N1) influenza virus.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon has filed Senate Bill 3204 also known as the “Emergency Health Powers Act” proposing the immediate activation of a body to be called the Public Health Emergency Council that would draw up a battle plan against health threats.

Biazon’s bill recommends that the following compose the Public Health Emergency Council: secretary of health as chairman; secretaries of interior and local government, trade and industry, justice, national defense and press secretary as members.

Meanwhile, the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) Commission assured the public that United States personnel who will attend the annual Balikatan exercises will strictly comply with Philippine laws and go through thermal scanners at the airport for screening. - Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz, Rudy Santos, Pia Lee-Brago