MANILA (2nd update, 7:00 p.m.) – The health department reported Thursday four more cases of Influenza A (H1N1) or swine flu virus in guests who attended a wedding in the Philippines, raising the country's total to 10.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the new confirmed cases also attended the wedding in Zambales, which was also attended by the Taiwanese mother and daughter who were confirmed with swine flu after returning to Taiwan last week.

The pair caught the infection while visiting the Philippines.

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Duque said, of these four attendees, two were females, a 24-year-old mother and her one-year-old daughter. The other two were males, aged 47 and 13 years old. Three are Filipinos, and one is a foreign national. All are taking Oseltamivir and only have mild acute respiratory illness.

On Wednesday, Duque urged the public to remain calm amid the reported increase in the number of confirmed swine flu cases in the country.

Duque said the DOH is exerting all efforts to complete contact tracing and to place under quarantine all those with known exposure to the confirmed cases.

He said they will also furnish the local government units (LGUs) the results of the confirmed cases in their area to ensure that they can contain the spread of the virus.

“The DOH has been preparing for this scenario,” he noted.

He also assured the public that the pandemic preparedness and response plan is in place and that the DOH has expanded its referral hospital to all regional hospitals and medical centers.

The DOH is expecting more confirmed cases in the coming weeks due to its intensive contact tracing and heightened awareness among the public.

Under observation

So far, the DOH reported that there are still 28 cases under observation (CUOs) for possible infection of influenza A (H1N1) after some of the persons who attended a wedding party with the two Taiwanese in Zambales province recently submitted themselves for quarantine.

Duque said eight of the CUOs were attendees of the wedding and were quarantined by the DOH after they called the regional office in Central Luzon.

He also said that there were some 50 persons who attended the wedding and only 11 of them have submitted themselves to authorities. Only three so far have been tested negative for the virus.

In Cordillera, the DOH said four people still remain under close observation for possible swine flu infection. Three are now in solitary confinement in undisclosed hospitals in the region, while the fourth are under house care.

The patients’ identities and actual locations have been kept under wraps by the DOH for their protection.

But Dr. Myra Cabotaje, director of the DOH in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), said that two of the patients are children while the other two are adults.

Symptoms

She said two of the patients had mild symptoms of sore throat, cough, and fever, while one had diarrhea and vomiting.

Globally, a mere cough is considered a suspect case. In the Philippines, however, those considered as suspect cases are those with fever and respiratory illness, vomiting, and diarrhea, Cabotaje said.

Cabotaje added that the nature of the illness is evolving, making the virus "weaker." This makes the cases in the country "milder" than other countries, she said.

The instruction of the department was to confine suspected patients in referral centers.

But Duque reiterated that if people concerned have traveled to an influenza A (H1N1)-affected country or have been exposed to a confirmed swine flu case and have the above-mentioned symptoms, they should consult a health facility immediately.

He asked the public to report similar incidents by calling the DOH hotline (02) 711-1001 or (02) 711-1002 for Luzon, (032) 418-7636 and (032) 255-1591 for the Visayas, and (082) 227-2731 for Mindanao.

Global tally

As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 444 new cases of swine flu and three more deaths have been reported around the world.

The global body said that Bahrain and Singapore became the latest countries to report cases, bringing the total to 48. It added that 367 of the new cases and all three deaths were reported by Mexico.

The agency's global tally stood at 13,398 laboratory-confirmed cases and 95 deaths Wednesday. (MSN/PNA/Danvir Aserit, Sun.Star Baguio Intern/Sunnex)