Two travelers who arrived in Cebu are being tested for the influenza A (H1N1) virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.
Duque declined to give more details except to say that specimens will be taken from the two individuals and brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila to test for common flu viruses.
If the tests are negative for common flu viruses, then it means that the two individuals could be carriers of the H1N1 virus.
The specimens will then be brought to laboratories in Australia and the US Center for Disease Control, which can confirm whether the cases in Cebu are influenza A (H1N1).
Cebu cases
Rico Lucena of ABS-CBN News Cebu reported on Tuesday that a Filipino male with fever arrived with his wife from Hong Kong at 11 am Tuesday. They were originally from Ireland and had stopped over in Hong Kong, which both have cases of influenza A (H1N1).
The thermal scanner at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport terminal detected that the Filipino male had fever, which was later confirmed by quarantine personnel after they took his temperature orally.
The Filipino was brought to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center for tests.
Aside from him, a 26-year-old female Caucasian tourist, who arrived over a week ago, volunteered to be checked for the H1N1 virus as she was coughing and felt weak.
She was brought to an isolation room at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. The female tourist, accompanied by her husband, had originally come from Mexico.
Meanwhile, RITM director Dr. Remigio Olveda said they have a satellite site at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, which will undertake the respiratory swabs on the two patients.
The specimens will be preserved and brought to the RITM in Manila. The specimens have to be tested within 72 hours after they are taken from the patients. The RITM will need eight hours to find out the results of the respiratory swab.
If the laboratory tests confirm these are swine flu cases, the Philippines would be the third in East Asia breached by the virus. Hong Kong and South Korea each have one laboratory-confirmed swine flu case but with no deaths.
Over 1,000 cases
Based on its latest May 4 bulletin, the World Health Organization (WHO) said "21 countries have officially reported 1,085 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection."
"Mexico has reported 590 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 25 deaths. The United States has reported 286 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death," the WHO said in its latest advisory.
The WHO said the "following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (101), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Colombia (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (4), Germany (8), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (6), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (54), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (18).
The WHO advised "people who are ill to delay international travel and for people developing symptoms following international travel to seek medical attention, in line with guidance from national authorities."
The WHO said people should "wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis and should seek medical attention if they develop any symptoms of influenza-like illness."
The new influenza virus is believed to be a combination of avian, human and two swine influenza viruses. -- with reports from JING CASTAÑEDA and RICO LUCENA, ABS-CBN News
No comments:
Post a Comment