MANILA, Philippines - A 10-year-old Filipino girl who had traveled to the United States and Canada was found positive for Influenza A(H1N1), making her the first confirmed case in the Philippines.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced this last night in a teleconference from the World Health Organization (WHO) office in Geneva, Switzerland.
"We now have the first confirmed case of Influenza A(H1N1) in the Philippines... The discovery of this first case is something we have been preparing for," said Duque.
The girl arrived in the Philippines last May 18, and eventually developed fever, cough, and sore throat the next day.
Swab throat samples were taken from the girl who is now confined in an "undisclosed health facility."
Duque said the samples were examined and confirmed at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) using the A(H1N1) testing kits donated by the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention through polymerase chain reaction machines.
"The patient was started on anti-viral and given supportive care. The patient no longer has fever and cough, but she still has sore throat," he added.
The family and those who had close contact with her have already been advised to go on quarantine.
"We advise the public not to panic. There is no community level outbreak. Measures are being implemented to prevent transmission," Duque said.
DOH Undersecretary Mario Villaverde said the results of the laboratory tests would be sent to a WHO-accredited laboratory in Melbourne, Australia.
He added the co-passengers of the girl in the plane home would be contacted to advise them to observe self-quarantine.
Villaverde had also urged the public to observe personal hygiene, take nutritional food, get enough sleep, take vitamin C, and drink lots of water and fruit juices to strengthen their immune system.
"If you can postpone travelling to other affected areas, that would be good for you," he advised the public.
WHO tally tops 11,000 cases
The World Health Organization earlier raised its tally of swine flu cases around the world to 11,034 and 85 deaths.
WHO said most of the new 791 cases have been reported in Canada, Mexico and the US. Mexico confirmed three more deaths linked to swine flu, while the US confirmed two since Wednesday's tally.
At least 38 other countries have also reported cases since the outbreak began last month.
A month after the world was alerted to a potential flu pandemic, the WHO was caught yesterday between the spread of the new swine flu virus to 41 countries and doubts fostered by its mild symptoms.
Some 10,000 cases and 80 deaths have been recorded since the outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza emerged in Mexico and the US, and the world remains at flu alert level five, signaling an "imminent pandemic."
But World Health Organization Director General Margaret Chan is hesitating about declaring a full-pledged pandemic by moving to phase six, even though travelers have carried it to other countries.
The top level would indicate sustained community transmission in a second region outside of the Americas.
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso appealed for calm yesterday as a total of 281 swine flu cases were reported in the country, including the first in greater Tokyo, the world's largest urban area.
Antoine Flahaut, an epidemiologist and head of the School of Public Health (EHESP), said the technical elements were in place to move into pandemic phase.
"But the WHO senses that recommendations which go with that are not adapted to the situation," he explained, pointing to air travel restrictions or advice to wear surgical masks.
"Invoking phase six would be disproportionate with the current situation,"
The doubts have growm because of the relatively mild symptoms of swine flu, which experts acknowledge is no worse than seasonal influenza for now.
Most of the deaths have occurred among those who were suffering from other ailments, a common pattern for ordinary strains of flu.
When the WHO's annual assembly opened on Monday, British Health Secretary Alan Johnson voiced doubts about phase six that had been growing behind the scenes after countries rushed to contain new cases of swine flu.
"I think you, as you and others have said, need more time, we need more time to study this," Johnson told Chan, prompting nods of approval from other health officials afterwards, including China, Japan and New Zealand.
"She has taken that on board," WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham said late yesterday, underlining that most of the cases in Japan were largely confined to students or their close entourage.
Chan acknowledged this week that the WHO's pandemic response plan, introduced three years ago, was largely designed around the more deadly and virulent, but less transmissible, H5N1 bird flu virus.
"This scale was based on geographical distribution, but the public belief is that pandemic means seriousness," said Sylvie Briand, acting director of the WHO's Global Influenza Program.
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