Flu community outbreak declared in Nueva Ecija

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) declared last night the first community-level outbreak of Influenza A(H1N1), in a village in Jaen town, Nueva Ecija.

The declaration was made after the DOH confirmed following a two-week surveillance that 10 grade school students and a four-year-old child had infected 92 others, ABS-CBN News reported.

Dr. Eric Tayag, chief of the National Epidemiology Center (NEC), confirmed the “community-level” transmission of the virus. The DOH declaration was made with the approval of Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

Doctors and local health officials are monitoring 57 other students of the Hilera Elementary School for symptoms of the potentially deadly flu.

Classes in the school in Barangay Hilera were suspended after the initial outbreak and will remain suspended for 10 more days.

Dr. Milgrace Santos, Jaen municipal health officer, said regional health directors are meeting today to discuss ways of preventing the further spread of the virus.

The DOH earlier yesterday reported 36 more new cases of A(H1N1), bringing to 147 the total number of  infected persons in the country.

But although the number has been steadily rising, so far, no deaths have been recorded, according to DOH officials.

Data from the DOH-NEC revealed that three of the 36 new cases were foreign nationals and 20 were males.

Secretary Duque announced last Saturday that health authorities are shifting the policy of mitigating the illness to preparing households against the threat of disease.

“This means that we have to make sure that our health system is equipped to treat and manage particularly severe cases which may require more intensive care in our hospitals and that mild cases are appropriately treated at home,” Duque explained.

The World Health Organization (WHO) earlier declared Pandemic Alert Level 6 and alerted all countries that the A(H1N1) virus is now widespread and that further spread is inevitable. 

A(H1N1) scare in Davao

In Davao, at least four more patients are now under observation at the isolation ward of the Davao Medical Center (DMC) for possible cases of the viral infection.

However, DMC administrator Dr. Leopoldo Vega was quick to point out that so far Davao City remains swine flu-free despite the fact that there were several persons who were earlier admitted at the hospital’s isolation ward but tested negative for the virus.

The four brought to 27 those who have been placed under observation at the DMC isolation since May 12. 

The first 23 cases were already discharged after their swab laboratory results proved negative.

Vega said that the latest to be placed under observation were two seamen, 24 and 35 years old, who just came from Japan. The two others were a two-year old toddler and a nine-year old child who also both came from Japan.

Vega said those who have been placed under observation at the DMC actually showed symptoms of fever and cough, which prompted medical authorities here to have their swab samples taken for examination at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila.

And as the level of cases is slowly rising, church officials are now seeking divine intervention.

Special prayers were read after Mass asking the Lord’s guidance in daily activities to prevent the spread of the flu and for health officials to find a cure. – Mayen Jaymalin, Edith Regalado, Cecille Suerte Felipe