CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Department of Health on Thursday night took throat swabs from 19 more residents in Barangay Hilera in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, bringing to 34 the total number of people there for Influenza A(H1N1) testing, one of whom turned out positive for the virus on Thursday.
Dr. Rio Magpantay, DOH director in Central Luzon said the second batch of 19 people consisted of students and adult villagers.
The results of the rest in the first batch of 15 will be announced today by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. The first positive case in that first batch is an 11-year-old boy.
Magpantay said the boy spent his vacation in Bulacan. His contacts in recent weeks are being traced.
Latest contact tracing showed that none of those in the first and second batch had history of travel in A(H1N1) infected countries, Magpantay said.
Since this was the case, health authorities are trying to establish if the exposure originated from any member of a team that conducted a medical mission at the Hilera Elementary School last May 31. DOH personnel are still trying to locate the group known only as Palanghay, he said.
Before the regional DOH actively intervened last week, Jaen Mayor Santi Austria had cancelled classes at the Hilera Elementary School for two weeks as 22 students there got ill with fever.
By then, the provincial health officer, Dr. Benjamin Lopez, deemed the cases to be of “ordinary flu.”
Last week, 53 students in the same school and four residents showed what Magpantay called influenza-like illness.
While not yet declaring a community-level outbreak, the DOH has set up a command post in Barangay Hilera.
“Since the residents are not showing serious symptoms, we’re operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” Magpantay said.
About 20 health personnel from the DOH regional office, provincial health office, local health office and the Paulino J. Garcia Hospital are helping do “early detection and aggressive medication” among villagers.
DOH LEADING LGUs
Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali said the provincial and local governments have already prepared the support network for DOH’s pro-active approach in containing the spread of the virus ahead of the Jaen situation.
“The program is proving to be successful because it is the DOH that is on the lead. We [in the LGUs] heeded DOH’s advice not to be visible so as not to confuse the people. I’m very confident that the DOH is doing quite a good job here,” Umali said.
He said the DOH has allowed Hilera villagers to freely move around. “But they are also advised that if they don’t have important things to do outside, they are encouraged to stay home and to also report at once the symptoms they observe in their bodies and of their family members,” Umali said.
Dr. Mario Ramirez, director of the Department of Education in Central Luzon, said the reopening of classes in Hilera Elementary School will depend on the advice of the DOH.
“It can go less or beyond 10 days,” Ramirez said. “What is important is public health.”
Dr. Rio Magpantay, DOH director in Central Luzon said the second batch of 19 people consisted of students and adult villagers.
The results of the rest in the first batch of 15 will be announced today by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. The first positive case in that first batch is an 11-year-old boy.
Magpantay said the boy spent his vacation in Bulacan. His contacts in recent weeks are being traced.
Latest contact tracing showed that none of those in the first and second batch had history of travel in A(H1N1) infected countries, Magpantay said.
Since this was the case, health authorities are trying to establish if the exposure originated from any member of a team that conducted a medical mission at the Hilera Elementary School last May 31. DOH personnel are still trying to locate the group known only as Palanghay, he said.
Before the regional DOH actively intervened last week, Jaen Mayor Santi Austria had cancelled classes at the Hilera Elementary School for two weeks as 22 students there got ill with fever.
By then, the provincial health officer, Dr. Benjamin Lopez, deemed the cases to be of “ordinary flu.”
Last week, 53 students in the same school and four residents showed what Magpantay called influenza-like illness.
While not yet declaring a community-level outbreak, the DOH has set up a command post in Barangay Hilera.
“Since the residents are not showing serious symptoms, we’re operating from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.,” Magpantay said.
About 20 health personnel from the DOH regional office, provincial health office, local health office and the Paulino J. Garcia Hospital are helping do “early detection and aggressive medication” among villagers.
DOH LEADING LGUs
Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali said the provincial and local governments have already prepared the support network for DOH’s pro-active approach in containing the spread of the virus ahead of the Jaen situation.
“The program is proving to be successful because it is the DOH that is on the lead. We [in the LGUs] heeded DOH’s advice not to be visible so as not to confuse the people. I’m very confident that the DOH is doing quite a good job here,” Umali said.
He said the DOH has allowed Hilera villagers to freely move around. “But they are also advised that if they don’t have important things to do outside, they are encouraged to stay home and to also report at once the symptoms they observe in their bodies and of their family members,” Umali said.
Dr. Mario Ramirez, director of the Department of Education in Central Luzon, said the reopening of classes in Hilera Elementary School will depend on the advice of the DOH.
“It can go less or beyond 10 days,” Ramirez said. “What is important is public health.”
