06/04/2009 | 09:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Health (DOH) has started contact tracing for at least 120 students who may have come into contact with an exchange student confirmed as the country's 22nd A(H1N1) case.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Thursday this was based on an initial report from the De La Salle University where the student is studying.
"Ang batay sa report ng DLSU, apat na classrooms ang nakasalamuha nitong foreign student na ito na 30 bawa't classroom [Based on the initial report of DLSU, the exchange student came into contact with four classrooms, each of which has 30 students]," Duque said in an interview on dzRH radio.
But he said they expect no problem in the contact tracing as the school had been cooperative in the DOH's efforts to track down the students.
He said the DOH has obtained the exchange student's schedule of classes.
"Di ito magiging problema, madali ang contact tracing nito [We do not expect problems. The contact tracing in this case will be relatively easy]," he said.
On Wednesday, Duque said the president and chancellor of DLSU, Bro. Armin Luistro, had expressed full cooperation with the DOH in the ongoing containment measures.
He said Luistro also vowed to immediately implement the recommended measures contained in the response level systems in schools released by the DOH last May.
As a precautionary measure, classes in DLSU have been suspended until June 14.
Meanwhile, Duque said he will meet with experts next week to discuss a shift in strategy, from containment to mitigation.
He said this involves having those who have symptoms of A(H1N1) going to hospitals instead of the government going after them.
"Di kakayanin, mapaparalisa kami, di namin magagawa ang trabaho namin [We may become overwhelmed and not be able to do our other jobs]," he said.
Duque also supported calls for the World Health Organization to review its assessment system of A(H1N1), saying it considers only the geographical aspect of the disease and not its severity.
"Ngayon lumalabas ang global consensus it is a mild form of influenza with less than 1% case fatality rate, malayo sa avian influenza [The global consensus is that AH1N1 is a mild form of influenza with less than 1% case fatality rate, far from avian influenza]," he said. - GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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