Image via WikipediaMARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV
06/18/2009 | 03:46 PM
MANILA, Philippines – More schools have started suspending classes as cases of the Influenza A(H1N1) infections among students continued to increase on Thursday, the Health department said.
Three schools from Quezon City, San Juan City, and Mandaluyong City were the latest addition to the growing list of learning institutions with students sickened with the flu virus.
Department of Education-Metro Manila director Teresita Domalanta was quoted in a radio report as saying classes at the Alejandro Roces High School in Quezon City were suspended after one of its students tested positive for the new flu virus strain.
At the Lourdes School in Mandaluyong City, elementary and high school classes on Thursday were cut short and students were sent home after one of them was also found positive for the virus. Classes will resume on June 29.
Meanwhile, a third year college student from the Dominican College in San Juan City also contracted the (H1N1) virus.
After suffering from cough and fever, the student was brought to the Lung Center of the Philippines and the person was diagnosed to have the disease.
The student is already recovering, even as 10 others in the Dominican College have been placed under self-quarantine.
On its Web site, the Ateneo de Manila University reported that four of its college students have been infected, aside from the three high school students who were earlier downed by the flu virus.
The Metro Manila schools that have so far reported confirmed A(H1N1) cases are:
- De La Salle University–Taft, Manila;
- College of St. Benilde, Manila;
- Far Eastern University–East Asian College, Manila;
- St. Andrew's School, Parañaque City;
- Ateneo de Manila University and High School, Quezon City;
- Our Lady of Perpetual Succor College, Marikina City;
- Miriam College, Quezon City;
- Lagro Elementary School, Quezon City;
- Lourdes School, Mandaluyong;
- Dominican College, San Juan City;
- Alejandro Roces High School, Quezon City; and
- University of the Philippines–Diliman, Quezon City.
At the Vedasto Santiago High School in San Miguel town also in Bulacan, 100 students and faculty members were downed with fever. Classes however were not suspended after they all tested negative for the flu virus.
Tally
Latest DOH data showed that 344 people have contracted the disease since May 21, but 242 of them have already fully recovered.
On Thursday, 33 cases were added to Wednesday's tally of 311. Twenty-four of the new cases are male while the rest are female.
With the rapid increase of A(H1N1) cases in the country, the Health department is already mulling designating more testing centers to accommodate more suspected flu victims.
Seven hospitals were accredited by the DOH to conduct laboratory tests on suspected flu cases. The Health department said it might tap the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu, as well as the San Lazaro Hospital and the Philippine General Hospital in Manila.
The government is also negotiating with a number of private hospitals who could help out in speeding up the process.
Before leaving for Japan, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assured that the government would shoulder all the hospital expenses of confirmed infected with the virus.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said treating an infected person would entail expenses of up to P25,000. These already include the cost of hospitalization and doctor's fee, as well as the P4,000 testing kit.
The government said that like a regular flu virus, the A(H1N1) can be transmitted at a similar rate. However, the virus has more chances of being transmitted in the household (20 per cent) than in the community (7 to 10 per cent). - Mark Merueñas and Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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