Suspected A(H1N1) case reported in Dagupan City
Finally, it’s close to home.
The Dagupan City Health Office has issued a health advisory after one suspected case of influenza A(H1N1) was admitted in a private hospital in the city.
Dagupan City Health Officer Leonard Carbonnel said the suspected case involves a patient who sought medical help two days after arriving in from Canada in a town adjacent to Dagupan.
Carbonnel, chairman of the multi-agency task force for A (H1N1) created last week by Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr., however, was quick to advise local residents not to panic even as he withheld the name of the hospital as well as details about the patient.
The city health officer maintained there is still no cause for alarm because per the World Health Organization, the fatality ratio of AH1N1 influenza is still low compared to Severe Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), meningococcemia and avian flu.
He said the private hospital called him on Monday to tell him that it has a patient who arrived from Canada and developed fever two days upon arrival here.
He reminded the public that health advisories about the symptoms of influenza A(H1N1) and what the public should do to avoid the disease are being circulated
Carbonell also called on the barangay officials of Dagupan to help monitor health conditions of newly-arrived Overseas Filipino Workers and residents in their respective areas.
Meanwhile, the hospital was promptly advised to isolate the patient and to get a respiratory swab or specimen for submission to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) at San Lazaro Medical Center in Manila.
The hospital has the option to transfer the patient to the RITM in Alabang, Muntinlupa.
The Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City also has an isolation room for such patients while the private hospitals are prepared to allocate a private room for reported cases in their care.
Dr. Rolando Mejia, director of Region One Medical Center and Dr. Vivencio Villaflor, medical director of the Villaflor Doctors Memorial Hospital, are co-chairmen of the multi-agency task force.
The city health office called on the public not to be complacent and not to relax their guard by observing healthy practices such as covering their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, washing hands thoroughly, avoiding contact with sick people or to avoid crowded places when sick.
Its recommendations to increase body resistance include having at least eight hours of sleep, be physically active, drinking plenty of fluids, eating nutritious food and managing stress.
The Philippines is now among the 48 countries of the world with confirmed cases of A (H1N1). As of Friday, the Department of Health announced there are now 14 confirmed cases in the country.—LM
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