HEALTH authorities in Davao City confirmed Saturday the fifth case of influenza A (H1N1) in Eastern Mindanao.

Davao Medical Center (DMC) chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega said the latest case is a 25-year-old male from Surigao province. He did not say where the latest patient acquired the illness.

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Vega said the latest case is on home quarantine in Surigao.

There are a total of five confirmed cases of H1N1 infection in Eastern Mindanao so far. The first case was a four-year-old boy from Butuan City. The other two are from Davao City: one from Kidapawan City and the latest from Surigao.

Two one-year-old babies are also confined at the DMC isolation ward for suspicion of H1N1 infection Sunday last week. Until Saturday though, the result on the swab test taken on the two babies have not been released.

Last Wednesday, two more were admitted at the isolation ward, a two-year-old male and a 24-year-old female. Vega said the two are also under observation for the virus.

Vega, however, said the DMC will soon have a laboratory that will conduct confirmatory testing for H1N1 virus. This would mean that the swab tests taken on suspected swine flu cases will no longer be transported to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City for testing.

Vega said RITM staff is now coordinating with them regarding infrastructure and training of the staff.

Asked how soon the laboratory will be setup, Dr. Vega said he could not say for certain. With a laboratory for H1N1 in Davao City, it will only take two days for the result to come out.

"No timetable has been set because of infra concerns and training," Vega said.