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DOH chief: Swine flu may surface in RP
MANILA, Philippines - Health Secretary Francisco Duque III admitted on Wednesday that it is potentially possible for the dreaded human swine flu to surface in the Philippines. "We can say it (entry into the country of the deadly new flu strain) is possible… it’s not improbable. Even the World Health Organization (WHO) has already said that the situation is already beyond containment," Duque told reporters. But he said the government in particular the Department of Health is doing all its best to prevent the virus from entering the country. "To ensure that it will not come to the Philippines is already beyond me," he said. Experts from the WHO raised the pandemic alert level to 4 out of the 6 possible phases after the human-to-human transmission had been sustained since the weekend. Mexico already recorded 159 deaths so far and the number of those affected could reach to 2,500 individuals. Duque said they increased their efforts to ensure that any possible entry of the virus would be immediately detected. "The Philippines is on high alert and is moving quickly to defend our borders against threats of emerging infectious diseases," the health chief told the participants of the 4th Asia-Pacific BioSafety Association Conference. Duque likewise maintained that the government has enough supply of the antivirals, which as of latest count stands at 600,000. Apart from tamiflu, Duque said they also increased the supply of protective equipment such as the N95 masks, gloves, slippers and gowns. At the same time, the health chief said the Lung Center of the Philippines, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the San Lazaro Hospital are also prepared and equipped to handle patients that would be detected with human swine flu. He also reiterated the use of thermal scanners in air- and sea-ports to monitor the possible entry of travelers coming from affected countries that could be carrying the swine flu virus. The government is similarly reviewing their health alerts and health advisories given the fast changing situation around the world. "This is an evolving situation and we will make daily updates and making adjustments on our preparedness plan," Duque said. - GMANews.TV
Tags: swineflu, swinefluvirus
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