DOH - Update No. 29 - Duque Update on the Influenza A(H1N1) Situation in the Philippines

May 31, 2009

Secretary Francisco T. Duque III today reported that there are 46 new Cases Under Observation (CUOs) who all have pending laboratory results. Since May 1, 2009, the DOH has monitored a total of 285 Cases Under Observation (CUOs). Of these 16 have been confirmed positive for Influenza A(H1N1), 64 have pending laboratory results, and 205 have been discarded since they are negative for A(H1N1).

In their latest report dated May 29, the WHO reported 2,120 new cases and 4 deaths. The new deaths were from Canada, Mexico, and the USA. There are now a total of 15,510 cases and 99 deaths (CFR = 0.6%) from 53 reporting countries. New countries who have a confirmed Influenza A(H1N1) case were Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Slovakia, and Uruguay.

Duque reiterated that at this time, there is no compelling reason to suspend the opening of classes on Monday, June 1, since there is no sustained community level transmission of H1N1 anywhere in the country. The decision to suspend classes will be on a case-to-case basis according to the guidelines set by the DOH.