Info drive on deadly strain launched in QC

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. directed the city health department yesterday to launch an aggressive citiwide information campaign to educate residents about the mysterious and deadly pneumonia strain reported in more than five Asian countries.

Belmonte instructed city health officer Dr. Ma. Paz Ugalde to mobilize health workers to ensure an effective campaign on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), especially in remote communities in the city.

Barangay and youth officials were also tapped by the mayor to assist the health department in its health awareness campaign as SARS cases continue to rise in China, Hong Kong and other Asian countries.

"It is important to inform and educate our people. Telling them what to do and where to go if they detect the symptoms of the disease are necessary in allaying their fears," Belmonte said.

The city health department was also directed to closely monitor reports coming from the Department of Health (DOH) so as to give the city government the necessary information on how it could help people deal with the deadly disease.

Health authorities have advised people to avoid crowded places and avoid traveling to countries where cases of the disease were reported and verified.

The pneumonia strain, which reportedly originated in Guandong province in China, manifests symptoms like high fever, coughing, sore throat, shortness of breath and body weakness.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the Filipino who had arrived in the country from Vietnam was free of the disease.