Daily Influenza A (H1N1) Updates
Update 54 - WHO Commends DOH for Anti-A (H1N1) Efforts, Adopts Weekly Reporting System of Cases as Recommended by WHO
9 July 2009The Department of Health (DOH) today expressed gratitude to the World Health Organization (WHO) over the commendation it gave to the government agency for its swift and tireless efforts in dealing with the novel virus A (H1N1).
The WHO letter dated June 30, 2009 and signed by WHO Regional Director Dr. Shin Young-soo put on record “my personal appreciation of the exceptional collaboration established between the Government of the Philippines and the World Health Organization in the fight against Pandemic H1N1 2009. I commend your leadership and tireless efforts in responding to this emerging threat to the health of the people of the Philippines”.
“We are very grateful that our efforts were recognized and didn’t go to waste. We appreciate that the WHO finds our response efficient and that it is confident on the quality of our laboratory diagnoses,” Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said.
The WHO letter further said that “Contact tracing has also been thorough, allowing the DOH to detect further cases and slow down the spread of the virus. The efficiency of the response indicated to me that the Philippines has the fundamental capacity to detect and respond to the new influenza virus. I should add that WHO is also confident about the quality of the laboratory diagnoses carried out by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and about the epidemiological activities conducted by the National Epidemiology Center (NEC)”.
Update 53 - Duque Orders DOH to Bolster Mitigation Efforts Against A (H1N1)
On June 30, Duque convened another DOH Command Conference attended by members of the A (H1N1) Task Force, the DOH regional health directors, the chiefs of hospitals of all the 72 DOH-retained hospitals in the country, and some representatives from the private sector. “As we anticipate more cases in the coming months, we must institute effective mitigation measures to save lives and prevent deaths and to reduce the impact of the pandemic to our nation and the economy,” Duque said. |
Update No. 52 - Duque: Country's Mild A (H1N1) Patients Responding Positively to Treatment
26 June 2009 Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III today reported 134 more mild cases of A (H1N1), noting that all are responding positively to their treatments. These additional cases bring the total count of confirmed cases of the novel virus to 861. The total sum, on the other hand, of fully recovered patients still stands at 634 or 74% of the total number of confirmed cases reported since May 21. “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 explained. The additional 134 cases involved 60 males and 74 females. The age range of these cases is 2-58 years old, with 16 as median age. One hundred eighteen (118) of the new cases are Filipinos, the remaining 16 are foreigners. Twenty (20) of these cases have a history of travel to a country affected by A (H1N1). Meanwhile, as of June 24, the World Health Organization reported 55,867 cases with 238 deaths from 102 reporting countries. |
Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III today reported that the Department of Health (DOH) is further bolstering its mitigation efforts against Influenza A(H1N1) in light of the anticipated rise of cases in the country.