MANILA - The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said it is stepping up its mitigation efforts against influenza A (H1N1), as the number of cases in the country rose to 1,709 from 861 last Friday.
In its July 1 update, the DOH said the Philippines had a total of 1,709 cases of influenza A (H1N1) since May 1, but the DOH said 86 percent or 1,485 patients have already recovered from the illness.
The remaining 224 patients (14 percent of total) are still under treatment, most of them under home management, the DOH said.
Only one A (H1N1)-related death has been recorded so far.
The DOH is also monitoring the case of a five-month-old patient, the youngest victim of the virus so far.
"All cases exhibited mild symptoms with the most common as fever, cough, and nasal congestion," Duque said.
"The ages of cases range from 5 months to 79 years old, with 18 years old as median age. Most of them belonged to the 10-19 years age group (831 cases). Majority of the cases were male (894 cases)," Duque described.
Duque disclosed that of the 1,709 reported cases, 1,568 (92 percent) were Filipinos; the rest were American (with 17), Japanese (8), Chinese (4), Korean (3), German (2), and one each from Australia, Canada, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Sweden, Thailand, and Turkey.
"Two hundred eighty-five had history of travel to a country which has reported A (H1N1) cases. Most came from the USA, China, Japan and Singapore," Duque noted.
Most of the cases come from the National Capital Region, Regions IV-A, III, and VIII.
Globally, as of June 29, the World Health Organization has recorded a total of 70,893 cases, with 311 deaths, from 109 reporting countries.
Mitigation efforts
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the DOH is stepping up its efforts against the disease as they anticipate more cases in the coming months.
"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," he said.
This comes after Duque convened another DOH Command Conference, attended by members of the A (H1N1) task force, DOH regional directors and chiefs of hospitals, and representatives form the private sector.
With the move towards mitigation, the DOH said that they are ensuring all government hospitals, at all levels, have the capacity to administer care to high-risk patients, in accordance with the directives of President Arroyo.
Duque has also called for meetings with the member-agencies of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to "engage them... in strengthening the involvement of local government units in the A (H1N1) response."
"We have also requested the NDCC member agencies, especially DepEd, CHED and TESDA and PIA to help us in our nationwide campaign against A (H1N1). This is to make sure that our information and education activities reach all schools, barangays and provinces in the country," Duque added.
The DOH will also meet with medical and health associations, such as the Philippine Medical Association and the Philippine Hospital Association regarding treatment and management of A (H1N1) patients.
'Preparedness plans'
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), meanwhile, is urging the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to compel large firms employing more than 500 workers to submit their "preparedness plans" in dealing with the spread of the virus.
"The DOLE has to ensure that business establishments, particularly the labor-intensive ones, are taking adequate measures to monitor, prevent and control the potential proliferation of Influenza A(H1N1) among their workforces," TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera was quoted in a statement.
The DOLE earlier issued Department Advisory No. 4, providing "Guidelines on Influenza A(H1N1) Prevention and Control at the Workplace," for all employers and workers in the private sector.
Herrera, however, said the guidelines were not enough, saying the DOLE's Occupational Health and Safety Center (OHSC) should require large employers to submit their plans to deal with influenza A (H1N1).
TUCP earlier said that the virus, if left unchecked, could soon invade the country's factories and impair labor productivity.-- With a report from Jing Castañeda, ABS-CBN News
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