THE World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said the Department of Health (DOH) has done “exceptional” jobs in responding to the influenza A (H1N1) scare in the Philippines over the past two months.

WHO regional director Shin Young-Soo, in a letter sent to Health Secretary Francisco Duque, said “my personal appreciation of the exceptional collaboration established between the Government of the Philippines and the World Health Organization in the fight against Pandemic H1N1 2009. I commend your leadership and tireless efforts in responding to this emerging threat to the health of the people of the Philippines.”

For updates from around the country, follow Sun.Star on Twitter

Shin also lauded the “contact tracing” conducted by the DOH which he said “has also been thorough, allowing the DOH to detect further cases and slow down the spread of the virus. The efficiency of the response indicated to me that the Philippines has the fundamental capacity to detect and respond to the new influenza virus.”

Earlier, Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez and South Cotabato Representative Arthur Pingoy scored the DOH due to high number of diseases in the country.

DOH records showed that as of Thursday, the number of A(H1N1) cases in the country remains at 1,709 with one death as the National Epidemiology Center is still completing its weekly surveillance report.

Aside from the case management strategy of the DOH, the WHO also cited the efficiency of the laboratories in the country in detecting the virus despite limited resources.

“I should add that WHO is also confident about the quality of the laboratory diagnoses carried out by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and about the epidemiological activities conducted by the NEC,” Shin said.

RITM officials had intimated that there are simply too many patients looking to be tested for the virus and that their test kits may not be enough prompting the DOH to advise those who do not have pre-existing medical conditions to simply stay home.

Because of this, Secretary Duque again appeal to the public to continue following the DOH recommendation on ways to prevent being infected of the virus such as proper hand washing, cough etiquette and other hygiene practices.

“The best defense against A (H1N1) and other diseases is to boost your immune system. Most people can fight off this virus without special medications or hospitalization. You can stay at home and take supportive care like plenty of fluids, vitamins, and bed rest,” he said.

Likewise, Duque urged patients who have underlying medical conditions to seek proper medical treatment.

“We want to make it clear that high-risk groups, once they have the flu symptoms, should immediately go to their doctor. They should not wait for their symptoms to worsen because they are prone to many other infections,” Duque explained.

Those who are considered as having highly vulnerable conditions are individuals with uncontrolled diabetes, frank cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic liver and kidney disease as well as those who are organ transplant recipients and suffering from other infections like HIV/Aids and tuberculosis.

The country’s first A (H1N1)-related death recorded had been suffering from congestive heart disease; tuberculosis; enlarged liver, kidney and spleen; and tumor in the uterus and tyromegaly or goiter. (MSN/Sunnex)