THE local health office in Zamboanga City has designated another government-run health institution that will serve as alternate hospital for influenza A (H1N1)-affected persons.

City Health Officer Dr. Rodel Agbulos said they have designated the Mindanao Central Sanitarium in the village of Pasobolong, 12 kilometers east of Zamboanga City, as the alternate hospital for A (H1N1) patients.

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The City Health Office has earlier readied an isolation ward at the government-run Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC) where H1N1 patients will be admitted for treatment.

The isolation ward is manned by health personnel composed of Task Force H1N1 who were trained to handle influenza A (H1N1) patients.

Agbulos said ZCMC’s isolation ward is only a four-bed capacity, the reason for the designation.

The number of H1N1 patients in Zamboanga City has climbed to two, including a nine-year-old pupil of Ateneo de Zamboanga University (Adzu) and a 63-year-old woman.

The nine-year-old boy came into contact with a relative who was found positive of the virus earlier this month, while the 63-year-old woman had just arrived from Los Angeles, California.