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12:48 AM



BICOL READY for H1N1
Inquirer Southern Luzon

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines—The Regional Disaster Coordinating Council in Bicol came up with an information campaign on Influenza A (H1N1) flu to prevent the entry of the virus. The Department of Health-Bicol reported to an emergency meeting Friday at the Office of Civil Defense here that Bicol is still free from the virus.

Although two previous cases were reported in Albay and Camarines Sur these tested negative for the virus, said DOH-Bicol. “Those tested negative in Bicol were good news for the region but the one positive case from Canada is not good for the country,” said Raffy Alejandro, head of OCD-Bicol.

The meeting was called to make proactive plans and emergency response measures in case Bicol reports its first case. The DOH-Bicol was designated as regional crisis manager while the National Disaster Coordinating Council has similarly appointed the DOH central office as the national crisis manager.

Albay

Albay health authorities are on guard against the swine flu virus as tourists continue to pour in the province because of summer festivities and the whale shark watch in Donsol, Sorsogon. Albay Governor Joey Salceda activated the Provincial Epidemiology Surveillance Units (Pesu) end of March and identified three hospitals in the province where patients who would be affected by the virus could be brought.

The Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH) based in Daraga, Albay, the Ziga Memorial District Hospital in Tabaco City and the Josefina Duran Memorial District Hospital in Ligao City were all on alert. They designated isolation rooms for those who would show symptoms of the swine flu that has now affected some 25 countries worldwide.

Salceda also convened the Provincial Health Office (PHO) and the Albay Provincial Safety and Emergency Management Office and asked them to coordinate with DOH-Bicol and the BRTTH to devise proactive response to the swine flu crisis. “We have done this before during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome incident. The standard operating procedures that we have taken in the past would be applied again with the swine flu crisis,” Salceda explained.

Operational funds are now ready for use in the event a swine flu case happens here, he said, adding that he had earmarked 24 percent of the province’s internal revenue allotment for health services. Salceda added that when DOH Secretary Francisco Duque learned of Albay province's anti-swine flu measures, the health official immediately called him up and told him that the department will be using the Albay Swineflu Response Strategy as a model for the whole country.

The DOH said the swine flu epidemic had entered a dangerous new phase as the death toll in Mexico had climbed to 149, while 2,000 people were believed to be infected. Salceda said the province’s readiness against swine flu is the same as its preparation for a coming typhoon with corresponding signals.

“As of now it is as if we are under signal number 1,” he said.

Reports from Rey Nasol, Jonas Cabiles Soltes, Maricar P. Cinco and Madonna T. Virola, Inquirer Southern Luzon
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