MANILA -- Several congressmen are seeking to hold a congressional inquiry into the Department of Health's (DOH) response to influenza A (H1N1) cases in the House of Representatives.

South Cotabato Rep. Arthur Pingoy, chairman of the committee on health, said he would ask House Speaker Prospero Nograles to order an investigation to find out how DOH should respond to an outbreak similar to the A (H1N1) virus.

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Health authorities reported the death of a 49-year-old female House employee Monday. The woman, who died last June 19, is the first H1N1-related death reported in Asia.

"Secretary Francisco Duque's explanation that the DOH kept it secret from us because it was part of DOH protocol and to prevent panic is very ironic," said Pingoy.

"On the contrary, this is against protocol because the DOH could have reported this to the leadership which could have exercised discrete health procedures," he added.

He said: "The DOH gravely endangered the health of our employees by keeping us in the dark."

"It is very irresponsible of DOH to only report this to us when one of our employees died because of A (H1N1)," Pingoy said, a medical doctor.

Pingoy said had House authorities been informed of the woman's death sooner, he could have directed his committee and the House medical services to conduct contact tracing and other measures that would ensure the immediate containment of the viral disease.

Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez agreed Pingoy's observation, pointing out that unlike schools and universities, the House is an institution with implications on national security.

"Apart from the fact that we have at least 4,000 employees who are potential victims of this virus, the House of Representatives is also host to government dignitaries and officials of foreign governments who come to us almost every day," Golez said.

"This action of the DOH also endangered the health of the members of the media and resource persons who attend our hearings," he added.

"We also have employees who are in constant liaison with other government agencies including the Office of the President. The House of Representatives is an institution with national security implications and I wonder why the DOH did not realize that," he said.

Other congressmen also raised the need to conduct an inquiry into DOH policies and standard operating procedures in responding to cases similar to the A (H1N1) outbreak.

Speaker Nograles, however, is not keen on proposals to postpone President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's State of the Nation Address (Sona) in view of A (H1N1) cases in the House.

"The situation in the House is expected to stabilize and be contained by next week, and the event [SONA] is still (set for) July 27, which is more than enough time to address the issue of H1N1," Nograles said in a statement.

Revised guidelines

Health and education officials Thursday revised the guidelines governing the suspension of classes for schools affected by influenza A (H1N1).

Under the revised guidelines, classes will no longer be suspended should new cases be reported in the same schools.

Classes will only be called off for 10 days after the first confirmed case is reported to assess the medical situation of the patient and those in close contact with the patient.

The suspension of classes will also be done to enhance the campaign for cleanliness, hygiene, and readiness in the school and to disinfect the school, the education chief said.

There are now 43 schools that have suspended classes due to the spread of the illness.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said the revised guidelines came after the studies by the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (Ched), and Department of Health (DOH) on the nature, characteristics, and transmission of the mutant virus since it first appeared in the country early this month.

"The revised guidelines would also address the recent development where we have shifted the campaign from one of containment to mitigation," Lapus said.

Self-quarantine

In subsequent cases, all the schools have to do is send the infected students, faculty, or non-teaching staff home for self-quarantine and let them recover from the illness before accepting them back to class.

Only high-risk cases, such as those with chronic illnesses, will be hospitalized if they contract A (H1N1).

Based on the revised Alert Level Response 4, classes will no longer be suspended in schools in communities with a low-level community outbreak.

But an exception will be granted when there is an "unusually severe illness or clinical manifestation" and there is a "large number of simultaneously ill students and/or school staff."

A sustained community level transmission happens when there are cases of fourth generation transmission and the index case or the person who originally spread the virus in an area can no longer be traced.

When this happens, classes will go on and only the sick and those in direct contact with them will be made to stay at home.

Earlier, Lapus said it would be pointless to cancel classes in areas where students would be going home to a community already beset with many A (H1N1) cases.

"Suspension of classes is no longer advisable when there is a community-level outbreak of the virus," he said.

The DOH has earlier declared a low-level community outbreak in some areas in Manila, Makati, Parañaque, and Quezon City where majority of the reported A (H1N1) cases among schoolchildren are reported.

The number of A (H1N1) cases in the Philippines has swelled up to 727, after the DOH listed 123 additional cases Thursday.

The 123 new cases, the DOH said, remain to be "mild in nature" and that the public should remain calm.

High-risk group

Despite the continued increase in the number of cases, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said only those with pre-existing medical conditions should seek medical attention since they belong to the high-risk group.

Those belonging to the high-risk group, according to the DOH, are those with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, COPD, chronic liver and kidney diseases, tuberculosis, and human immunodeficiency virus-Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/Aids) infections.

Others in the category are organ transplant recipients, pregnant women, and the very young and the elderly.

Those who do not belong to the high-risk group should only practice home quarantine, Duque added.

"Most can fight off this novel virus even without medications or hospitalization. If you have mild flu-like symptoms but you do not have any preexisting medical condition, then there is no reason to be alarmed. Just stay home and take plenty of fluids, vitamins, and bed rest," he reiterated.

Likewise, Duque said there are already 536 patients who have already been discharged after they've fully recovered.

The number represents 74 percent of the total cases of the reported confirmed mild cases since May 21. (Sunnex)