DOH UPDATE NO. 21 - SEC. DUQUE'S UPDATE ON THE 62nd WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY & H1N1

24 May 2009

Fellow DOH officials, members of the press, ladies and gentlemen, good morning.   

Welcome to this press briefing. First of all, I am very happy to be back from Geneva where I represented the country to the 62nd World Health Assembly where we discussed many significant global health issues including this unfolding situation on the spread of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus to many countries all over the world. 

Let me also thank the media for their vigilant monitoring of this event and for helping the Department of Health disseminate vital information to the public.  This fresh information every day keep our people on alert and inform them about the developments that are happening and the measures that they need to know to protect themselves and their families from this new pandemic threat. 

I have been checking the situation here in the Philippines while in Geneva.  My officials at the DOH give me hourly updates on the events and I commend them for a job well done in keeping our nation safe while I was attending the WHA. 

In Geneva, the WHO together with the health ministers of all member states made key resolutions on important health issues which include progress on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, intellectual property, primary health care, climate change, the social determinants of health and the impact of the global economic crisis on  health particularly the health of the poorest people.Much of the debate however , centered on the H1N1 virus, the level of preparedness of WHO member states and the implementation of the International Health Regulations in light of this evolving situation. 

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan opened the WHA with a reminder to all countries of why the world needs to be prepared for this new threat. 

She said: “The emergence of the H1N1 virus creates great pressure on governments, ministries of health, and WHO to make the right decisions and take the right actions at a time of great scientific uncertainty.” 

The H1N1 virus has so far caused mild illness, with low mortality (<1%), in all countries except for Mexico which registered the highest number of deaths during the early part of the outbreak. While we are all hoping that this will be the pattern of illness caused by H1N1, we cannot be too complacent because many factors can make a mild illness manifest severely and more fatally in people with preexisting conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and COPD.

We all agreed at the end of the meeting that what will spell our survival as a global community against any pandemic, whether it is caused by H1N1 or any other virus, will be a strong and effective public health response…Strong health systems that can detect and manage the cases early and provide fair and equitable access to drugs and other interventions at all levels of care with competent staff.

We also need to tackle this new threat with a great amount of solidarity with the international community.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Department of Health has been on alert since Day One that Influenza A (H1N1) was declared by WHO as a public health emergency of international concern.  The move to Phase 5 prompted the DOH to activate our National Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan, a Plan that was borne out of our experience from handling SARS in 2003 and from our success thus far in preventing the entry of Avian Flu to the Philippines as it affects other countries in the SEA Region.

We are stepping up our preparedness and response plan more intensely.  We have been working round the clock especially now that we are officially announcing the second confirmed case of H1N1 in the country.  

On the first confirmed case, the child is now almost fully recovered with only mild sore throat.  She is completing her antiviral medications and will be discharged as soon as repeat PCR for Influenza A (H1N1) is negative. Contact tracing has also been done and all household contacts were given antiviral prophylaxis.  They are complying with the DOH advice to stay at home for 10 days while monitoring for the development of influenza-like illness symptoms.

On the second confirmed case, the patient is a 50 year old female who arrived in the Philippines on May 20 from the USA and sought consult in a health facility a day after arrival, May 21. RITM confirmed that her specimen tested positive for the Influenza A (H1N1). She only has mild symptoms which include fever and cough.  At present, she does not have symptoms.  She was immediately started on medications and is currently being monitored. Efforts are also under way to trace all the close contacts of the second confirmed case.

On the Taiwanese national who visited the Philippines, the DOH is continuously investigating the case.  We have already coordinated with Taiwan Centers for Disease Control who reported yesterday that the patient has already fully recovered. At present, her daughter only has mild respiratory symptoms and does not have fever anymore.  Based on the information we have, the Taiwanese woman fell ill after visiting the Philippines for a short vacation.  She did not attend any social gathering in the country, which could have exposed her to the virus while here in the Philippines.

Aside from the 2 confirmed cases, the DOH is currently monitoring 10 new cases under observation. Of the new cases under observation, nine still have pending laboratory test results for Influenza A (H1N1) together with six other previous cases. All other cases tested negative for Influenza A (H1N1).  

Globally, the World Health Organization reported a total of 12,022 cases and still 86 deaths in 43 countries as of May 23. Russia was reported as the newest country with confirmed Influenza A (H1N1) case.