PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER:
As the number of swine flu victims climbed to 392 Saturday with the confirmation of 48 new cases, the Department of Health started to act against traders unscrupulously taking advantage of people’s fear of the novel and potentially deadly influenza virus.
The authorities said, however, that of the 392 confirmed cases, 70 per cent or 275 have already fully recovered as of Saturday.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he has ordered the Bureau of Food and Drugs to crack down on advertisements about anti-flu vaccines that give the wrong impression that their medication could protect people against the A(H1N1) virus.
There is no vaccine yet against the A(H1N1) virus and the existing vaccines are for seasonal flu, which medical experts say has proven to be more virulent than the A(H1N1) virus.
An agency under the DOH, BFAD has regulatory powers over all medicines being sold in the market.
“I've told the BFAD to study [these ads] if they give a misrepresentation. I told BFAD to be vigilant because there are a lot of unscrupulous people during times like this and the public falls victim to them,” Duque said in an interview over dzMM when asked about ads on flu vaccines.
With respect to ads that claim certain vaccines are effective against the flu, Duque said, "In one aspect they are correct, but that is a half-truth.”
He warned that the public might be wrongly led into thinking that available flu vaccines would protect them from the H1N1 strain.
Duque said he has also asked the Department of Trade and Industry to set price ceilings on facial masks that have again become popular since the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare in 2003.
Medical experts have said that masks should be worn only by persons infected with the H1N1 virus to keep them from infecting others. Masks are also helpful only for caregivers and medical personnel attending to patients.
The DOH has repeatedly discouraged the wearing of masks in public since the virus is not airborne.
The flu virus is transmitted when a person inhales respiratory droplets released by an infected person when he sneezes or coughs or if a person happens to touch an object or surface infected by the virus and then touches his eyes, nose or mouth before washing.
The DOH has asked the public to cover the mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing and to observe proper handwashing and social distancing (ie., avoid kissing and handshakes in social gatherings) as preventive measures.
“I've asked (Trade) Secretary Peter Favila to issue a suggested retail price for products whose prices have been increasing, taking advantage of the H1N1 issue,” Duque said when asked about the rising prices of masks.
The DOH said the best preventive measure is to improve one's immune system and resistance by having adequate sleep, good nutrition, plenty of fluids (water and fruit juices) and avoiding stress.
The DOH said all the H1N1 cases in the country have shown mild flu symptoms.
The 48 new confirmed cases had ages ranging from 1 to 53, with 17 as the median age (ie., half of the cases are age 17 and below).
The DOH said 45 of the new confirmed cases are Filipinos, while the remaining three are foreigners but their nationalities were not disclosed.
Twelve of the new cases have a history of travel to an affected country.
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