MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV
06/09/2009 | 04:22 PM
Two security guards wear surgical masks while manning the entrance of the University of the East in Manila as a precaution against the swine flu virus. - R. ReyesMANILA, Philippines – For the Department of Health (DOH), it's only the worst of times. The creeping Influenza A(H1N1) virus is spreading alarm in the same season that the traditional killer dengue goes on its annual rampage.
A government with limited resources may soon have to choose which crisis deserves more of its money and attention. Quezon City's health chief Dr. Antonietta Inumerable argues that the government should already transfer its focus to dengue, saying that it has already killed 14 in her city this year while the A(H1N1) has not killed any.
But global alarm has a way of deciding a government's priorities. As early as late April – around the same time the flu virus began spreading outside Mexico – Philippine health officials scrambled to address the emerging crisis.
The government laid down preventive measures to ensure that the virus wouldn't reach Philippine shores: from installing thermal scanners to preparing stocks of anti-viral drugs, even going as far as banning pork importation, all of which exacted a sizable economic cost.
With the discovery of the first confirmed A(H1N1) case in late May, the DOH went into overdrive, setting into motion a meticulous effort to trace every single person who had contact with an infected patient – part of what it called a "containment process."
Contact teams, for example, telephoned and interviewed each student at De La Salle University who shared a classroom with a foreign exchange student who was found to be infected with the virus. Even after these contacts' self-quarantine, they were given Tamiflu drugs by the DOH as a preventive measure.
Double whammy
With the onset of rainy season, the Philippines faces the problem of containing not just the spread of the A(H1N1) virus but the dengue virus. Dengue can kill hundreds every year, while the newer virus has not yet caused a single fatality.
But public health experts have warned that A(H1N1), like the avian flu virus before it, could lead to catastrophe if allowed to gallop through the population unchecked.
Some have even raised the specter of the Spanish flu of 1918, a mysterious virus that killed millions around the world. But that was before the vaccines, treatments, and coordinated global responses available today.
"This is really a challenge for us because we are faced with a double burden," Dr. Eric Tayag, chief epidemiologist of the DOH, told GMANews.TV on Tuesday.
Tayag, however, assured the public that the department was "still on top of the situation."
He said the government's anti-dengue campaign "has long been institutionalized." Given that dengue cases are always expected to rise during the rainy season, the DOH intensifies its information drives at this time of year.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III likewise spoke of his department's dexterity in juggling cases of A(H1N1) with the perennial problems posed by dengue.
"Ang dengue, dapat talaga mas-bantayan ngayon because this is a medical emergency [We really have to watch dengue cases because this is a medical emergency]," the Health secretary said in a radio interview.
Duque said unlike the mutant flu virus, the effects of the dengue virus could not be eased or eliminated by any vaccine or drug. At one point last week, Duque lamented that his department's resources were being spread thin and suggested that the government may start treating A(H1N1) like an ordinary flu.
Focus on dengue
Quezon City health department head Dr. Inumerable echoed the DOH officials' observation about the twin health challenges but stressed that the DOH should now focus on the latter.
"The dengue cases should be given more priority because if left unattended, the result could really be severe," said Inumerable.
More deaths this year from dengue
From January to May, 275 dengue cases were recorded in Quezon City alone. Although the figure is a 58-percent drop from the same period last year, more people died this year.
Nine people succumbed to dengue around the same period last year, while 14 have died since the start of 2009.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year, and the disease is epidemic in more than 100 countries.
In contrast, 73 countries have officially reported 25,288 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 139 deaths. But the epidemic has barely begun.
A(H1N1) "shrouded in mystery"
The DOH's chief epidemiologist Tayag asserted that the national government is not choosing between attending to A(H1N1) and dengue cases, saying "both are equally important."
The chief epidemiologist said attention should not veer away from dengue because it has long been established that the virus when left unaddressed could claim many lives. But focus should be given to the A(H1N1) virus because – though having a low one-percent fatality rate – it remains shrouded in mystery.
"The virus is still unknown and unpredictable. Kung baga sa pagkain, tinitimpla pa natin siya [If it's food, we still don't know how it will taste]," Tayag said.
Inumerable said she does not mind if the DOH appears to be "overreacting" to the flu scare.
"At least, our preparedness is being tested. Although the A(H1N1) scare seems overblown, we are already assured that we can handle the situation if things worsen," the chief city health official said.
She said that the arrival of the flu scare in the country has not affected the city health department's operations one bit. "We are not suffering. We are actually integrating all the activities and the information campaign," she said.
The dengue and A(H1N1) viruses can both be prevented through proper hygiene, she said. Cleaning one's surroundings would ward off mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus, while thorough washing of your hands would lessen the chances of contracting the flu virus.
Inumerable said that this year's anti-dengue lectures by her department were no longer limited to households and schools, but have also spanned barangay halls.
Ateneo reports 3 flu cases
As this developed, three high school students of the Ateneo de Manila University on Tuesday tested positive for A(H1N1) infection, prompting school officials to suspend their classes for 10 days starting Wednesday, June 10.
In an announcement posted on its Web site, ADMU said Ateneo High School (AHS) principal Fr. Raymund-Benedict Q. Hizon, S.J. received the information from the Department of Health (DOH) at about 4:30 p.m.
The announcement said the three cases were declared mild by the DOH, but following the government's existing guidelines on dealing with A(H1N1), classes must be suspended for at least 10 days.
"The three infected boys are in fact already feeling better, and were advised to rest at home and continue with their self-quarantine, with no need for hospitalization," the announcement read.
The DOH's new guidelines recommend that schools with confirmed cases of A(H1N1) should suspend their classes for 10 days to prevent the spread of the virus. It also advises students to stay home and avoid crowded places during the suspension of classes.
Meanwhile, as a precautionary measure, the Ateneo Grade School said it would also suspend elementary classes for two days starting Wednesday, June 10.
The AGS said background information has been obtained and it was established that the three high schools students have no siblings in the grade school.
Ateneo said all their offices would remain open and those with flu-like symptoms are advised to call their hotlines (426-5930 or 0918-9144633) for instructions on how to deal with the illness.
The designated referral center closest to the Ateneo is the Lung Center of the Philippines at Quezon Avenue with telephone number 924-6101 and 924-0707, the announcement said.
Other referral centers are the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (809-7599) and the San Lazaro Hospital (732-3776 to 78).
Ateneo is the fourth school in Metro Manila found to have students positive for swine flu. The other schools are: De La Salle University with 13 cases, Far Eastern University-East Asia with one, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde also with one confirmed case.
Earlier the DOH said the total number of A(H1N1) confirmed cases in the country is now at 54, but with no fatalities. The DOH added that all the patients have mild cases A(H1N1) and are responding positively to the treatment. - With a report from A. B. See, GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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