MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) recorded Monday two new deaths related to influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu infection.

Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, head of the DOH-National Center for Disease Control Prevention, said a 74-year-old male and a seven-year-old female who were found positive of the dreaded virus died last week.

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“It (the deaths) was reported to us last Friday,” Oliveros said.

According to her, the 74-year-old victim was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, acute kidney failure, and emphysema.

The seven-year-old victim, meanwhile, was suffering from asthma.

Oliveros said it would be wrong to attribute solely on A (H1N1) the victims’ deaths since they “both have underlying medical conditions.”

Last month, a 50-year-old female employee of the House of Representatives became the first known swine flu fatality in the Philippines.

Also on Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported that a 37-year-old woman from Tarlac province has been confined in a hospital in Hong Kong due to the H1N1 infection.

The DFA said the case is a “serious” one, but the patient is receiving full assistance at the United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, Kowloon.

The woman reportedly arrived in Hong Kong on June 28 and showed symptoms of H1N1 on June 29. She was admitted to the hospital on July 7 and was initially diagnosed with “severe pneumonia.” She was confirmed positive of the virus on July 11.

The DFA said the victim’s family in the Philippines was already informed of the woman’s situation.

In Zamboanga City, the DOH reported four new cases of H1N1, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the city to eight.

Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (Resu) head Dr. Norvie Taruc said the four new patients recently arrived from Manila. They were already given the necessary medication.

In Dumaguete City, 86 students of Herminigilda Gloria Memorial High School were reportedly sent home Monday after exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Dr. Socrates Villamor, provincial team leader of the DOH in Negros Oriental, said his office received a call around 2 p.m. Monday from a nurse of the Department of Education (DepEd) city division about the unusual number of suspected flu cases in that school.

Villamor then led a DOH team to the school to conduct investigation and take random swab samples of at least four students who manifested flu-like symptoms, such as fever and colds.

The 86 students were given first-line medication and were told to stay at home and limit contact with other people until the symptoms are gone.

As of Monday, Villamor said there is no need to suspend classes at the Herminigilda Gloria Memorial High School as the DOH has classified it as under Alert Level 2.

In Baguio City, however, six big schools have suspended classes until July 20 to avert the spread of the H1N1 virus among their students.

DOH regional director Myrna Cabotaje said the class suspension started with only two universities but was followed by four others in the wake of increased number of students exhibiting flu symptoms.

To date, there were already 15 confirmed cases in Baguio City. Most of the victims are students.

Meanwhile, health officials in Davao City said the much needed machine that will identify patients suffering from influenza A (H1N1) in just two days will soon arrive in the city.

The machine will facilitate for a much faster release of the result on swab tests taken on suspected H1N1 cases in Davao Region.

Davao Medical Center (DMC) chief Dr. Leopoldo Vega said last week that the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine will expedite the result from the usual four days to two days.

At present, the swab samples taken in Davao Region are transported to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Metro Manila for testing, thus the delay on the release of the result.

RITM officials have already coordinated with DMC officials for the setup of the A (H1N1) testing center at the DMC. It was also learned that RITM will train some hospital staff on how to operate the machine.

The country’s A (H1N1) cases already climbed to 2,668 as of Monday.

Ninety-five percent of these cases have fully recovered, said Dr. Oliveros of the DOH-National Center for Disease Control Prevention.

She added that only five percent or roughly 134 cases are remaining but also on the road to recovery. (MSN/Bong Garcia/BOT of Sun.Star Davao/PNA/Sunnex)