Image via Wikipedia06/09/2009 | 06:27 PM
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health on Tuesday said eight more people were tested positive for A(H1N1) virus, bringing to 54 the total number of confirmed cases in the country.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the new cases are “very mild in nature and the patients are responding positively to the treatment."
Duque said six of the cases are students of the De La Salle University, while one is the first confirmed case from the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde.
The eight new cases include seven Filipinos and one foreigner. Four are males and four are females with ages ranging from 16-44. Two of them had traveled to the United States.
Meanwhile, with the growing number of confirmed cases in the Philippines, Duque said it has discussed with the World Health Organization (WHO) the country’s plan to shift from "containing" to "mitigating" the virus' effects.
Duque said the confirmed cases are expected to increase but hospitals are ready to respond.
Cagayan Valley
In Cagayan Valley, health officials have placed under quarantine the region’s first suspected AH1N1 patient.
The patient is said to be from Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province and is a student in a Bayombong school.
Officials of the Veterans Regional Hospital (VRH) in Bayombong said the student possibly contracted the virus during a vacation in Manila and was diagnosed in a Tuguegarao hospital as possible carrier of the virus.
Dr. Cirilo Galindez, VRH chief, said a request to transfer the student from Tuguegarao to the regional hospital in Nueva Vizcaya was initially made by health officials in Cagayan but it was later decided that the patient be put on self quarantine pending further examination if the student is indeed infected by the virus.
“Right now we don’t have any confirmed cases of the AH1N1 virus in Region 2 yet and we hope there will be none," Galindez said.
With the recent opening of Ambuklao road making travel time between Nueva Vizcaya and Baguio three hours shorter from the usual seven-hour trip, residents are wary that the virus, which was suspected to have infected a student in Baguio last week, could also be in the province anytime.
But DOH assistant secretary Dr. Paulyn Jean Ubial allayed fears that the virus is deadly..
“AH1N1 virus is curable and will be treated in the future as a regular influenza virus," she said.
During a visit to VRH as part of their study on upgrading hospitals nationwide, Health Undersecretary David Lozada reiterated that there’s nothing to fear as long as good hygiene is practiced along with proper nutrition.
For his part, Galindez announced that the VRH staff is ready for any eventualities.
“We have our own isolation unit which is detached from the hospital’s main building and we are available if any suspected AH1N1 patient is brought here," he said.
The Veteran’s Regional Hospital is Nueva Vizcaya’s tertiary hospital, which serves the provinces of Ifugao, Quirino, as well as southern Isabela and even parts of Nueva Ecija. - GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment