Swine Flu greatly affects Asia

Swine Flu and Ebola, health emergency grips Asia

The cases of infection for the H1N1 climb to 98 thousand, 440 dead. On July 13, a speech by the WHO on the outcome of the research for the production of a vaccine. In the Philippines cases of Ebola discovered among pigs, which could transmit the virus to humans.

Jakarta (Asia News) - Influenza and Ebola fever, Asia is faced with a health emergency. Monday, July 13 experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) should announce the guidelines for the deployment of a vaccine against the H1N1 virus. But from the Philippines comes a warning that is even more serious: among the pigs on the islands a variant of the Ebola virus has bee found that, in the event of mutation, would be very dangerous to humans.

Fatela Chaib, a spokeswoman of the WHO, says, research for the production of a vaccine “is being developed” and the results should be published next Monday during a press conference in Geneva. On 11 June this year, experts raised the highest level of alert, declaring pandemic. The discovery in Denmark, Japan and Hong Kong of strains resistant to drugs have made it necessary to take even more drastic prevention measures.

In Indonesia, the authorities reported 30 cases of infection, two of the infected returned in recent days from a holiday in Bali and Lombok. The doctors of the hospital in Bandung, West Java, however, stress that the conditions of patients are improving and they will return home "even if it is necessary to continue the treatment."

Since the end of March last year, the H1N1 virus has infected more than 98 thousand people in 120 countries worldwide. WHO estimates about 440 people have died from the virus. Among the Asian nations most affected are Thailand with 2700 cases, China (circa 2300), Japan (over 2000), Philippines (1700) and Singapore (around 1200).

Moreover a new threat has emerged from the Philippines: scientists have discovered cases of Ebola among pigs, a virus detected so far only in humans and primates. The American researchers claim that, at present, the strain of the virus found in the pigs is not a source of risk to humans, but its mutation would increase the potential pathogen. Health authorities have examined about 150 people, six of which have an antibody to Ebola-Reston virus. Previously they had come into contact with the pigs.

"We really need to look for other o9ptions how to fight this Swine Flu virus all over Asia."

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Manila tops Asean tally

This developed as the World Health Organization (WHO), in its latest global situation update, reported the Philippines has eclipsed Thailand among countries in Southeast Asia, with confirmed A(H1N1) cases of 861, including one death as of 5 p.m. on June 29.

Closely following the Philippines in the region are Thailand (774 cases, no death); Singapore (599 cases, no death); New Zealand (587 cases, no death); Spain (541 cases, no death); and Israel (469 cases, no death).

The WHO update shows the greatest number are in the United States (27,717 cases, 127 deaths); Mexico (8,279 cases, 116 deaths); Canada (7,775 cases, 21 deaths); Chile (5,186 cases, seven deaths); the United Kingdom (4,250 cases, one death); Australia (4,038 cases, seven deaths); Argentina (1,488 cases, 23 deaths); China (1,442 cases, no death); and Japan (1,212 cases, no death).

In the Zamboanga case, the 9-year-old flu-stricken boy—he is now well—was reported to have had contact with a relative in Manila found positive of A(H1N1) infection.

The boy and the entire family placed themselves on home quarantine from June 22 and were provided antiviral treatment by the Department of Health.

Meanwhile, the health department is intensifying its information drive on swine flu and Duque said, “We have also requested the NDDC 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.”

The DOH have not yet recommend the public to use face masks or any personal protective equipment, but several companies manufacturing face masks have been taking advantage of the fear and are offering such protective gear.

Health experts warned, however, that not all face masks are effective and the only ones capable of preventing infection are the N95 class face masks and those treated with antipathogen solutions.

The experts said that the best protection is not to frequent crowded places and boost one’s immune system by adequate rest, hydration, fresh air, balanced diet, and moderate exercise.
MedTecs International Corp. Ltd. vice president Earl Montero said they are manufacturing an “all-Filipino” made face masks (N95 and 3-ply N88), isolation gowns, shoe covers and bouffant hats. (With M. Gonzalez, S. Fabunan, B. Garcia, Jr.)

"So sad that 1 Filipino died because of this Swine Flu virus."

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Health staff training, new anti-flu tack

With the failure of containment, the Department of Health has shifted focus against the A (H1N1) flu virus to mitigation by training as many health-service personnel as possible on the basic handling of the disease.

“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,” said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday.

Even far-off Mindanao has not been spared as 13 suspected cases have been found with one, a student in Zamboanga City falling ill, six people cleared, with the remaining six still waiting for results of their tests.

President Arroyo has, meanwhile, checked out of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center on Thursday after observing two nights of “self-quarantine” upon arrival from her latest foreign trips. She was pronounced free of the flu.

While the health department lifted the requirement for self-quarantine for travelers arriving from abroad, the President decided on the measure amid criticisms the quarantine lifting may be for the benefit of the Chief Executive, who was then flying in from Hong Kong, her last stop in a swing through Latin and North America.

In other developments, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) urged the labor department to compel large firms employing more than 500 workers to promptly submit their “preparedness plans” in dealing with the spread of the swine flu.

In a statement, TUCP secretary-general and former senator Ernesto Herrera said, “The DOLE [Department of Labor and Employment] has to ensure that business establishments, particularly the labor-intensive ones, are taking adequate preventive measures” since the illness could very well affect economic activities to the disadvantage of workers, businesses and the public alike.

"It's good that we have another option to fight the A (Hh1N1) Swine Flu Virus. I hope that everyone may cooperate on this plan."

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Filipinos join hands vs swine flu

MANILA, Philippines—Churchmen announced the holding of religious processions and special Masses, students trooped back to schools with bottles of alcohol in their bags and guards in some colleges carried thermometers to check temperatures, as Filipinos joined hands in a battle against the swine flu virus.

As some 5 million youths poured back into public and private schools with the end of summer, student nurses in charge of taking temperatures in a Lucena City school made sure no one got in without an “OK” stamped on the wrist.

Soldiers in military camps joined in the fight by shunning handshakes and limiting their greetings to mere salutes.

Citing its vulnerability to transients, especially foreigners, the city government at the Makati financial district passed an ordinance setting aside P10 million for the purchase of surgical masks, hand sanitizers and other items to help fight the menace of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus.

The Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) said colleges and universities opened on Monday “without any problems” despite the steady increase in the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the country.

“The schools had ample time to prepare,” CHEd Executive Director Julito Vitriolo said.
In Naga City, processions and Masses will be held from Tuesday until Thursday to be led by Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi.

“This year’s processions and Masses [will be] held to ask for God’s mercy [so that] the community [will be] spared from the influenza pandemic and other illnesses,” Legaspi said.
Legaspi encouraged everyone to participate in the processions to venerate the image of the Divino Rostro (Holy Face of Jesus).

"Swine Flu Virus awakens Bayanihan spirit among Filipinos."

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Flu scares and realities

I DON’T think the local media would be content until someone in the country actually dies from A(H1N1) Swine flu.

Amid reports of new cases, with news that the Philippines currently has the highest number of A(H1N1) cases in Southeast Asia, local media are all agog searching for new sites of contagion and escalating risks. Even when Health Secretary Francisco Duque assures that all cases detected in the country so far have been “mild,” with no fatality and with most patients recovering after three days of treatment, TV and radio reporters and commentators insist on ratcheting up the alarm level, implying health authorities are either much too complacent or are covering up the “real” extent of this health threat.

Actually, as Duque has pointed out, Filipinos have far more to worry about health than a new strain of flu virus. One of these is dengue, which has been around for decades and has actually been killing individuals. The disease afflicts most anyone, regardless of economic or social standing, as the recent illness of Kris Aquino’s sons demonstrated.

But dengue is old news, while A(H1N1) flu is still sexy and exciting. And so we are “treated” each evening to footage of panic-stricken parents, children wearing face masks, and schools and colleges supposedly besieged by the threat of a novel strain of flu virus.

One amusing report concerned a private school in Parañaque where a student had tested positive for the new flu virus. The principal of a neighboring school was caught on camera expressing concern about his students getting infected “since our school is just next door.” Will someone please tell him that A(H1N1) flu is spread through droplets in the air expelled by persons infected by the virus when they sneeze, cough or touch others. The virus is not airborne, at least not through great distances. So while one could be infected by sitting in close proximity with an infected person in enclosed quarters, such as in an airplane, you can’t get infected by going to a nearby school or standing under the same sky.

* * *

An article in the New York Times by Donald McNeil Jr. says that A(H1N1) flu has caused mostly “mild” illnesses so far and “scientists looking at its genetic structure says there is no obvious pressure” for the virus to mutate into something more lethal, that is to start killing more of its human hosts.

“It is already doing a near-perfect job of keeping itself alive by invading human noses and inducing humans to cough it from one to another,” says Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. A really aggressive flu that quickly kills its host, such as SARS and H5N1 avian flu “gives itself a problem,” says Lipkin.

We need to remember, though, that flu viruses are “highly mutable,” and, says McNeil, “anything could happen in the next two years, the time a new strain normally takes to circle the globe.” The World Health Organization has already declared a “global pandemic” of A(H1N1) flu, but experts don’t think the novel virus could reach the same level of virulence as the Spanish flu (a strain of avian influenza) that began as a mild strain but ended up killing 20-100 million people in a year’s time. That, said another expert, was a “once-a-millennium or once-every-10-millennia event.”

* * *

One reason relatively few people have been dying from A(H1N1) flu, at least soon after the first early deaths in Mexico and the United States, has been the use of anti-viral drugs, particularly osiltamivir, which, said Dr. Eric Tayag of the National Epidemiology Center, works by delaying the effects of a viral attack, giving the body enough time to marshal its own defenses.

But one problem, points out McNeil in his article, is possible resistance to Tamiflu, a brand of osiltamivir which is widely used by health authorities to treat A(H1N1) flu. “If that happens,” says McNeil, “the world’s Tamiflu stockpiles will be all but worthless and doctors may have to switch to Relenza, which is a powder used with an inhaler, which makes it more expensive and harder to take.”

This could very well be good news for GSK, the drug multinational which manufactures and markets Relenza, which unfortunately is not marketed here. Even better news for all of us is that GSK is currently working on the development of an A(H1N1) vaccine, although it’s still in the research stage. Already, says GSK global CEO Andrew Witty, the company has already committed about 50 million doses of the vaccine to the WHO once the vaccine is tested and approved.

"Now im getting really scared of Swine Flu".

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Hand to Mouth Communion Disallowed in the Philippines Due to Flu

The Philippines, a predominantly catholic country in Asia, has been struggling to fight the spread of the A(H1N1) swine flu. As a precautionary measure, the Catholic Church has disallowed churchgoers to receive communion from priests by hand to mouth.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines has disallowed church goers from receiving communion from priests or lay ministers by hand to mouth as a precautionary measure to avoid the spread of the dreaded swine disease.

The instruction was issued by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales as the number of confirmed A(H1N1) cases in the Philippines ballooned to 33 on Friday, earning the country the dubious distinction of having the highest incidence of infection in Southeast Asia.

“In view of detected presence of the A(H1N1) virus in our country, Cardinal Rosales has ordered that for the meantime Communion be received by the faithful only by hand," Fr. Genardo Diwa, head of the Liturgical Ministry of the Manila Archdiocese, said in an advisory.

"This is a good prevention for the virus to spread."

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Philippine swine flu cases climb to 21

MANILA, Philippines (AP): The Philippine health chief says tests have confirmed five new swine flu cases. That raises the country's total to 21.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque says two of the new cases confirmed Monday include guests at a wedding attended by two Taiwanese who fell sick after returning to Taiwan earlier this month.

The three others all returned from travel to the U.S.

Duque says seven of the 21 cases have tested negative in repeat tests, and three of them have been discharged from a hospital while four others will be sent home Monday.
Twenty of the cases are Filipinos, and one is a 13-year-old foreign boy.

"I just hope all of the Swine Flu virus cases in the Philippines will be healed and won't lead to death."

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Clean Hands Save Lives!

Keeping hands clean is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. It is best to wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. However, if soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based product to clean your hands. Alcohol-based hand rubs significantly reduce the number of germs on skin and are fast acting.

When washing hands with soap and water:
1. Wet your hands with clean running water and apply soap. Use warm water if it is available.
2. Rub hands together to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
3. Continue rubbing hands for 20 seconds. Need a timer? Imagine singing "Happy Birthday" twice through to a friend!
4. Rinse hands well under running water
5. Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer. If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet

Remember: If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based gel to clean hands.

When using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
1. Apply product to the palm of one hand
2. Rub hands together
3. Rub the product over all surfaces of hands and fingers until hands are dry.

"Kids and adults should follow this simple and effective way to prevent Swine Flu virus in the Philippines."

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DOH: 4 more test positive for H1N1 virus

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that four more individuals have been found infected with Swine Flu, bringing to 14 the total number of confirmed cases in the country.

The latest cases include two guests at a wedding party held on May 17 in Zambales, which was attended by the Taiwanese tourists who had earlier tested positive for the Swine flu.

The two are a 42-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man.

The wedding had around 50 guests and eight of them have so far tested positive for the virus.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the two other patients – a 19-year-old woman and a four-year-old girl – had traveled to the United States where the virus has spread in many cities.

“All four cases of Swine Flu have been started on Oseltamivir and have mild respiratory symptoms. All are Filipinos,” Duque said at a press briefing.

Health officials have started tracking down those who came in contact with the four patients so they could be asked to observe a 10-day self-quarantine.

Duque said the DOH is expecting Swine Flu cases to rise, “as is happening in many countries” but maintained that there “should not be any cause for alarm.”

“The rapid increase in the number of Swine Flu cases worldwide can be attributed to the relative ease of transmission of the virus and the unrestricted flow of international travelers,” he added.

In San Fernando, Pampanga, health officials said eight of the 50 wedding partygoers called up and volunteered to undergo examination, DOH Central Luzon director Dr. Rio Magpantay told The STAR.

Magpantay said six of the callers submitted themselves to tests at the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital while the two were at a regional hospital.

"The swine flu case in our country is growing in numbers and is alarming. A good hygienic practices will be our best defense against this virus."

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Malls, schools join anti-flu campaign

Schools and colleges, as well as government and private offices, have joined forces to fight off the threats from Swine Flu that has killed at least 91 people and sickened more than 12,500 others in 46 countries around the world, including the United States.

Not taking anything for granted, Education Secretary Jesli Lapus Monday urged students who had just returned from abroad, or were coming home from abroad, to go on self-quarantine for 10 days before going back to school with the reopening of classes this June.

The country’s three largest shopping mall chains—the SM Mall empire, the Ayala Malls and the Gokongweis’ Robinsons—said they were taking active measures to protect the health of consumers and mall goers, and to prevent any outbreak of the swine flu virus in the country.

"Everyone is helping each other fight the spread of this deadly virus in the Philippines."

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2 swine flu victims getting well

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said both patients—the 10-year-old Filipino girl who arrived from the United States and Canada on May 18 and the 50-year-old balikbayan Filipina who arrived from the US on May 20—are well and no longer have any symptoms.

He said the two patients will be discharged once their repeat PCR (polymerase chain reaction) laboratory test becomes negative for the Swine Flu virus.

“We can say they’re recovering and we’re looking forward to a negative PCR test. Then they won’t be infectious anymore,” Duque said.

Meanwhile, all the close contacts of the two patients, which includes immediate family and household members as well as co-passengers seated close to them during the flight, have not reported any symptoms of flu and are observing “home quarantine.”

Chief epidemiologist Dr. Eric Tayag said if they will remain to be flu-free, the home quarantine for the girl’s close contacts will be lifted on Wednesday, while that for the 50-year-old balikbayan’s contacts will be lifted on May 30.

"Good news, at least they were able to keep the virus to spread, a lot safer for us."

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Asian Countries Confirm More Cases of Swine Flu

Confirmed cases of swine flu increased across the Asia-Pacific region at the weekend, with China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, South Korea and Australia reporting new infections.

Also on Sunday, the Philippines confirmed its second case of swine flu, and health officials said 15 other people were undergoing tests for the virus. A 50-year-old woman from Chicago tested positive for the virus, the health secretary said. It wasn't clear whether the woman was a Philippine or U.S. citizen.

"Filipinos really need to be aware and educate themselves on the cause of this swine flu virus to prevent deaths in our country."

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