Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Still no A(H1N1) case in RP as baby tests negative

05/19/2009 | 01:05 PM
MANILA, Philippines – After hitting close to 9,000 people and killing 74 others in 40 countries, the deadly Influenza A(H1N1) has still not reached the Philippines.

The assurance came as National Epidemiology Center (NEC) head Eric Tayag on Tuesday said that the last quarantined patient – an 11-month-old Filipino baby – tested negative for the novel virus.

The baby boy, who arrived in the country last Saturday with a fever, was the last of 62 people who were all quarantined and later cleared since May 1. Thirty four of the patients were Filipinos.

The 11-month-old baby was earlier placed under quarantine at the Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine of the Department of Health in Alabang in Muntinlupa City.

Japan has so far recorded 125 confirmed cases of A(H1N1) infection in the cities of Kobe and Osaka, according to the latest report (Update 32) of the World Health Organization.

The spread of the virus has caused the shut down of at least 2,000 schools in Japan.

Apart from Japan, other Asian countries so far hit by the flu virus include China, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Israel, Turkey, and India.

While not yet included in the WHO list, Greece has also reported its first confirmed case of influenza infection, the radio report said. The 19-year-old man displayed symptoms reportedly after returning from the US, one of the worst-hit countries.

The US has the biggest number of confirmed cases as of May 18 with 4,714. However, Mexico still leads when it comes to fatalities with 68 people succumbing to the sickness. - GMANews.TV

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