Duque: Treat A (H1N1) like regular flu
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 06/27/2009 10:52 AM
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Filipinos should treat A (H1N1) virus like a regular, seasonal influenza, which infects thousands in the country every year, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Saturday.
"[A (H1N1)] is already widespread, but 99.9 percent of the cases are mild. It is beyond containment. It's already here (Philippines} and we should just treat it like an ordinary flu," Duque told radio dzMM.
He said that based on data from the Department of Health (DOH), at least 700,000 Filipinos catch the regular flu every year. He said the number translates to less than 60,000 a month, which is way bigger than the number of confirmed A (H1N1) cases in the country.
Duque reported Friday 134 more people have tested positive for A (H1N1) virus, bringing the country's total number of infected cases to 861. Included in the new cases were 24 students from Batangas, the latest province in the Philippines breached by the virus.
Of the 861 total cases, 634 or 74 percent have fully recovered since the first confirmed case in the Philippines was reported in May 21. One patient, a woman employee of the House of Representatives, had died after getting infected by the virus.
“The number of fully recovered patients is the same as the previous update because the present reported cases are still getting treatment and recuperating either in hospitals or their homes,” Duque said in a statement.
Duque advised people who suspect that they are infected with the new influenza to take a complete rest, drink eight glasses of water a day, take vitamin supplements and then wait for the virus to die down.
He said only people who already have severe illnesses, including diabetes, severe heart ailment, transplant patients, cancer, tuberculosis and complicated pregnancy, will be taken by the DOH for confinement at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and other authorized government hospitals that are equipped to treat A (H1N1).
The secretary said relaxed treatment on possible A (H1N1) cases is part of the government's shift from containment to mitigation strategy.
RP lined up for new flu vaccine
Duque said that the Philippines is among the countries lined up for the new flu vaccine being developed by Swiss drugs company Novartis.
He, however, clarified that the government has not placed its order yet with the drug company.
"We don't know how many they will make. It would be hard to make an order because there are still no vaccines," Duque said.
The health secretary said if Novartis' vaccine tests positive, the World Health Organization will take the first batch of the vaccines. The WHO will then make an allocation list before distributing the vaccines to countries with confirmed cases, he added.
He assured the public that the government will immediately place its order as soon as the vaccine is available.
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