i TV Pinoy

Source: gmanews.tv

-- The Department of Health is reverting its focus on scanning for symptoms of A(H1N1) on people coming into the country through airports, after the United States declared a national emergency over the spread of the disease.

A report by dzBB radio’s Allan Gatus Monday said that the move is part of the precautionary measures the government is taking against A(H1N1) – including a possible second wave of the spread of the disease in the country.

DOH Emerging and Reemerging Disease Prevention National Program manager Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy assured the public the government will take all measures to protect the public against the virus.

On the other hand, Alfonso Cusi, general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said that since the onset of A(H1N1) threat in the country months ago, they never relaxed their protocols to monitor the possible entry of people infected with the disease.

“We have not relaxed our measures. Our thermal scanners, our quarantine procedures are still in place. There was never a report na nawala na yung virus (that the virus no longer exists), so we’ve continued what we’ve done before," Cusi said in a phone interview with GMANews.TV.

Last Sunday, US President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency and empowered his health secretary to suspend federal requirements and speed treatment for thousands of infected people.

During the last week of May, the DOH decided to shift its strategy from manning thermal scanners at airports to contract tracing, taking cue from the United States and Canada, and focus on the early detection of A(H1N1).

Vaccines coming

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III reiterated Monday that the Philippines is in line to receive A(H1N1) vaccines from the World Health Organization.

But Duque, in a radio interview, admitted the government has no capacity to reproduce the vaccine on a large scale.

“Ang problema natin ang kakayahan ang kapasidad lumikha ng bakuna 'di ganoon kabilis. Pero tayo naman nakalinya, isa tayo sa unang luminya para sa vaccines. Sa dami ng bansa na mag-aangkat, sabi ko, dapat mauna na tayo (Our problem is that we do not have the capacity to manufacture the vaccine so quickly. But we are at the front of the queue for the vaccine)," he said in an interview on dzXL radio.

He said the Philippine government repeatedly “reminds" the World Health Organization that it should get priority for the vaccine.

“Sa WHO panay ang paalala natin sa kanila kung may bakuna ilabas na dahil may pondo, P100 million worth (We keep reminding the WHO of our order for P100 million worth of vaccines)," he said.

More deadly than A(H1N1)

Duque also maintained that while they remain wary of a second wave of A(H1N1), the disease is still not as deadly as leptospirosis, which had hounded flood-hit areas in the country.

He said that when A(H1N1) first hit last April, “only" 28 had died in the Philippines, compared to 162 who died of leptospirosis in the wake of floods caused by cyclones “Ondoy" (Ketsana) and “Pepeng" (Parma).

“Mas leptospirosis ang dapat bantayan kay sa A(H1N1) dahil mas marami ang namamatay dito (We should be keeping closer tabs on leptospirosis than AH1N1 because more are dying of leptospirosis)," he said.