Update 24: H1N1 cases hit 861 as 25 kids test positive in Nasugbu

By Sheila Crisostomo PHILIPPINE STAR



MANILA, Philippines – The country’s total count for Influenza A(H1N1) infections rose to 861 yesterday after 134 new cases were reported, the Department of Health (DOH) said.

Twenty-five children in Nasugbu, Batangas have tested positive for the virus.

But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III assured the public that all of the new cases are “mild” and they “are responding positively to treatment.”

The number of patients who have been cured, on the other hand, was placed at 634.

Duque said that of the 134 new cases, 118 were Filipinos while 20 have traveled to countries with confirmed cases of A(H1N1). 

The youngest patient is two years old while the oldest is 58.

The DOH also released yesterday the revised guidelines on how to shift the A(H1N1) response system from containment to mitigation. This was done in consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Duque explained that they decided to shift strategy because A(H1N1), as is the case worldwide, is “mild in nature” and most patients recover even before they start receiving medication. “This mitigation strategy will be implemented by area, where there is a community level transmission. We will be focusing on the seriously ill and those with pre-disposing illnesses,” he said.

Duque was referring to those with diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders, asthma, tuberculosis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cancer and complicated pregnancy and those who underwent organ transplant and who are above 60 years old and below five years old and with weak resistance. Under the new guidelines, anti-viral Oseltamivir will be given to confirmed cases with “severe progressive illness” and with “pre-existing or concurrent medical conditions that compromise the immune system or pulmonary functions.”

The DOH will also implement “selective laboratory confirmatory testing” to maximize the A(H1N1) test kits being imported from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other countries.

Confirmatory test will only be administered on the first suspect case in a specific area or community; when doing random sampling of persons with influenza-like illnesses manifesting unusual symptoms or severity and suspected cases at high risk of developing complications.

The guidelines said that no laboratory follow-up tests are necessary prior to discharge.

In the old policy, infected patients are tested again before they are sent home.
It also stated that routine contact tracing will be conducted only to document first- and second-generation transmission in the communities or specific areas with no previous cases.

The DOH intends to promote “voluntary home confinement” among suspected cases unless they are in the high-risk category.

The guidelines showed that “a great majority of probable and confirmed cases are for home care.”

This pertains to those with stable clinical manifestations or those identified when they were in the recovery stage of illness.

“Hospital admission criteria include those manifesting respiratory difficulty, progressively acute illness and debility and others belonging to risk groups,” the guidelines further said.

Latest patients

Twenty-five children in Batangas ranging in age from 10 months to 13 years have tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus in an emergency medical check-up conducted on students in a village in Nasugbu town last Saturday, a health official said yesterday.

Dr. Myron Duque, officer-in-charge of the Batangas Provincial Health Office, said they conducted a swab test on 27 students of Banilad Elementary School and residents of Barangay Banilad, and 25 of them turned out to be positive for the virus.

Duque said they suspended classes in the school and instructed all those infected to stay home and take medication.

Duque said the virus could have been acquired by one of the student’s father who arrived in the Philippines last week from Texas.

“So far, we have already tested 81 people all over Batangas province since last month and only 30 people turned out to be positive,” Duque said.

DOH: 536 recover from flu

The Department of Health (DOH) emphasized the “mild nature” of Influenza A(H1N1), saying that while the number of cases rose to 727 as of yesterday, 536 of the patients have already recovered.

The World Health Organization (WHO) website showed that as of June 24, the Philippines ranked second in Southeast Asia for confirmed A(H1N1) cases, following Thailand which had 774 cases.

Apart from this, among the 102 countries with confirmed A(H1N1) cases, the Philippines placed 10th. Worldwide, there is now a total of 55,867 cases, including 238 deaths.

Dr. Asuncion Maderazo-Anden, director of the DOH’s National Center for Health Promotion, however, stressed that the Philippines has a “good surveillance system” so it was able to capture all cases.

This was also the reason given recently by WHO acting country representative Dr. Howard Sobel, who lauded the Philippines for having “excellent contact tracing.”

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III maintained that A(H1N1) is a “mild virus” from which many of the patients recover even before they are started on medication – two capsules daily of Oseltamivir for five days.

“Most can fight off the virus even without medication or hospitalization. If you have mild flu-like symptoms but you do not have any pre-existing medical condition, then there is no reason to be alarmed. Just stay at home and take plenty of fluids, vitamins and bed rest,” Duque said.

But the health chief advised those who are seriously ill and who have other illnesses like diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and asthma and those who are pregnant, aged 60 and above, below five and with weak immune system to consult their doctors.

Duque said the total count for A(H1N1) in the country had increased to 727 after 123 more individuals tested positive for the virus.

Of the 123 new cases, three are foreigners while 21 have history of travel in A(H1N1)-affected countries.

The youngest patient was aged six and the oldest, 59.

“The safest way to avoid contracting the flu is by observing thorough hand-washing and by covering the mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing. The best defense against A(H1N1) and other diseases is to boost your immune system,” he added.

Update 23:Flu cases climb to 727

PHILIPPINE STAR

The Department of Health confirmed 123 more Influenza A(H1N1) cases today, bringing the country's total to 727.

The new cases, all mild in nature, involved 120 Filipinos and three foreigners, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told reporters. He said 21 of the patients had a history of travel to a country affected with the novel virus.

Meanwhile, the health chief reported that 85 more A/H1N1 patients have fully recovered. This new number brought the country's total count of A(H1N1) recoveries to 536, or 74 percent of the total sum of confirmed cases since May 21.

Despite the rise in flu cases, Duque said there is no need to panic.

"Most can fight off this novel virus even without medications or hospitalization. If you have mild flu-like symptoms but you do not have any pre-existing medical condition then there is no reason to be alarmed. Just stay home and take plenty of fluids, vitamins and bed rest," Duque told the public.

However, he advised "high-risk groups" to take the disease seriously.

“We want to make it clear that high-risk groups, once they have the flu symptoms, should immediately go to their doctor," Duque said, referring to patients with uncontrolled diabetes and asthma, those with chronic liver and kidney disease, those suffering from HIV/AIDs and TB, and pregnant women, the young and the elderly.

"They should not wait for their symptoms to worsen because they are prone to many infections other than the novel virus such as our seasonal flu strains," he added.

Update 22: Low-level H1N1 outbreak in Metro declared, 473 total cases of AH1N1

ABS CBN NEWS:

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said 28 more Filipinos have tested positive for influenza A (H1N1) infection, as a "low-level community outbreak" was declared in Metro Manila due to an increasing number of schools affected by the disease.

In a press statement, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the 28 new cases involved 16 males and 12 females with ages ranging from seven months to 49 years old. All of the new cases have had no history of travel to any affected country, he said.

The total number of confirmed cases in the Philippines is now at 473, the DOH stated.

Duque also said 26 more A (H1N1) patients in the Philippines have already fully recovered, bringing the total count of those who have fully recovered to 400. The figure represents 85 percent of all the confirmed cases reported since May 21.

Duque reiterated there that is only one reported A(H1N1)-related death in the Philippines, which is also the first swine flu-related death in Asia.

In a press conference Monday, the health chief identified the victim as a 49-year-old woman residing in Metro Manila who died last June 19. Cause of death was "congestive heart failure secondary to acute myocardial infarction aggravated by severe pneumonia either bacterial, viral or both."

He said "a throat-swab revealed that she was positive for A (H1N1)."

The health chief said the woman's husband and 21-year-old son were quarantined after exhibiting symptoms of A (H1N1) infection.

Low-level outbreak in metro

The low-level community outbreak was declared in Metro Manila, specifically in Manila, Parañaque, Quezon City, Marikina, Makati, Pasig, Mandaluyong, and Caloocan.

Areas particularly affected are those where third-level transmission has been confirmed by the DOH, especially around schools with A (H1N1) cases.

Twenty-two schools in the national capital region have had students, faculty or staff getting the virus.

Third-level transmission occurs when a person contracts the illness from another person who has contracted the same from an "index case," or the initial patient, the DOH explained.

The DOH said they will now focus on curing patients than on contact tracing, saying it is now "impossible" to do contact tracing now that the virus transmission has shifted to migration.

The health department, however, said that the public should not be alarmed by this announcement, since it is not yet a sustained community outbreak.

They also said that the spread of the virus is still under control, since the cases are lumped together in small clusters, particularly in schools.

Health watch hotline

The health secretary, meanwhile, thanked Smart Communications for opening SMART Health Watch Hotline 155, which can be used by the public to access the most recent information and updates on the novel virus A (H1N1).

Hotline 155 will be available starting today from Mondays to Fridays, from 8am-5pm. Duque said the DOH will be providing the contents that Smart will be giving its subscribers.

“We have given them all relevant information on the novel virus that they will need because they would be manning the hotline. However, when tougher questions come up, they will be referring the callers to the DOH-Health Emergency Management Service Operations Center,” Duque said.

He said that apart from the hotline, there will also be a Smart Infoboard Service, a text messaging solution that will provide a more effective and efficient communication service.

Duque said that globally the World Health Organization has reported 52,160 cases with 231 deaths from 94 reporting countries. Algeria, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam and Fiji are the new countries that reported A(H1N1) cases.

With reports from Carmela Fonbuena, Newsbreak and Jing Castañeda, ABS-CBN News
as of 06/23/2009 6:47 PM

Update 21: DOH: 36 new A (H1N1) cases; a total of 428, 79% of total are 'fully recovered'

ABS CBN NEWS:

The Department of Health (DOH) on Sunday reported that 64 more cases of influenza A (H1N1) have fully recovered, making the total of fully recovered cases to 399, while reporting 36 additional cases.

In a statement, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said 79 percent of all confirmed cases since May 21 have recovered from the illness so far.

The new cases, meanwhile, brings the total number of confirmed cases to 428.

Duque said all the confirmed cases are "mild in nature."

"The new 36 mild confirmed cases involved 15 males and 21 females. The age range is 2-59 years old, with 17 as median age," the statement said.

The health chief also said all but two of the new cases are Filipinos, and six of those new patients have a history of travel to a country affected by the virus.

All the patients are responding positively to the treatments, he added.

He also reminded the public of practicing proper hygiene habits to prevent the spread or getting the disease.

As of June 19 the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 44,287 cases of the illness, with 180 deaths, from 90 reporting countries.

The top 10 richest and poorest congressmen on Philippine Congress

The top 10 richest congressmen are:
1. Rep. Cynthia Villar (P1.05-B)
2. Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (P477-M)
3. Rep. Julio Ledesma IV (P447-M)
4. Rep. Arturo Robes (P441-M)
5. Rep. Judy Syjuco (P265-M)
6. Rep. Monica Prieto Teodoro (P232-M)
7. Rep. Ferjenel Biron (P191-M)
8. Rep. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (P180-M)
9. Rep. Edgar San Luis (P165-M)
10. Rep. Aurelio Gonzalez Jr. (P153-M)

The top 10 poorest:

1. Rep. Rafael Mariano (P55-T)
2. Rep. Teodoro Casiño (P118-T)
3. Rep. Adam Relson Jala (P782-T)
4. Rep. Satur Ocampo (P895-T)
5. Rep. Mujiv Hataman (P1.5-M)
6. Rep. Liza Maza (P1.5-M)
7. Rep. Benjamin Asilo (P1.9-M)
8. Rep. Pedro Pancho (P2-M)
9. Rep. Sharee Ann Tan (P2.1-M)
10. Rep. Narciso Santiago III (P2.9-M)

Here is a list of the richest senators, arranged based on their net worth based on their SALN.

1. VILLAR, Manuel 1.046 billion
2. MADRIGAL, Jamby 145.617 million
3. PONCE ENRIILE, Juan 120.367 million
4. REVILLA, Bong 118 million (2007)
5. ROXAS, Mar 110.7 million (2007)
6. ESTRADA, Jinggoy 83.511 million
7. CAYETANO, Pia P75.593 million (2008)
8. SANTIAGO, Miriam 75.755 million
9. LEGARDA, Loren 45.59 million
10. ANGARA, Edgardo 44.1 million (2007)
11. ZUBIRI, Juan Miguel 30.733 million 
12. BIAZON, Rodolfo 29.456 million
13. LACSON, Panfilo 27.806 million
14. GORDON, Richard 27 million (2007)
15. CAYETANO, Alan Peter 16.266 million
16. HONASAN, Gregorio 15.904 million
17. LAPID, Lito 14.6 million
18. AQUINO, Benigno III 14 million (2007)
19. PIMENTEL, Aquilino Jr. 12.313 million
20. PANGILINAN, Francis 11.684 million
21. ARROYO, Joker 11.05 million
22. ESCUDERO, Chiz 7.683 million
23. TRILLANES, Antonio IV 2.966 million