THE Department of Health (DOH)-Davao said it will work closely with DOH-Central Office and Department of Agriculture (DA) in monitoring any possible human case of avian influenza (bird flu) in the region after it was confirmed that the influenza strain that hit poultry and other domestic fowls in San Luis, Pampanga was that of the H5N6 strain.
DA announced on Thursday, August 24, that blood samples of the dead fowls from AI-affected areas were sent to Australia last week and was confirmed to be H5N6, which is transmissible to humans.
There is every reason to be cautious, DOH-Davao director Abdulla Dumama Jr. said, but not to panic.
"Transmission from person to person occurs when there is close contact with infected live or dead birds. The mortality rate of this state is also low," Dr. Dumama said.
Meaning, the human must have touched of the infected bird or its carcass or was within sneezing distance of the bird for infection to be possible.
Since it is also flu season, then extra caution with diagnosis is advised.
"H5N6 viruses have caused severe infection in humans, and thus far, human infections with the virus seem to be sporadic with no ongoing human-to-human transmission," the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Meaning, from the cases reported worldwide, viral infection only comes with direct contact with the infected bird.
Dumama said this is no reason to be complacent and thus urged the public, local government units, and other concerned government agencies to remain vigilant in assessing the health of the public to prevent the spread of the virus.
World Health Organization (WHO) said a person affected by H5N6 will usually experience respiratory problems such as pneumonia and heavy coughing. The person will also manifest non-respiratory signs such as stomachache and vomiting.
There is no confirmed case of H5N6 in a patient yet, Dumama said, thus following simple procedures especially when dealing with domesticated birds and poultry farms is a must.
"To all travellers returning from affected areas who experience sickness, fever, sore throat, cough, and muscle pain should seek medical consultation and go to the nearest health center to inform them of their travel history for correct diagnosis and treatment," he said.
He added that eating chicken and other poultry products is safe as long as it is properly prepared and cooked as bird flu virus is sensitive to heat and will kill them.
Public are also advised to practice proper hand washing with soap and water as this serves as the universal precaution in reducing the risk of being infected with any common infection.
LAB TESTS AWAITED
Meanwhile, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Director Dr. Soccoro Lupisan said they are still waiting for the laboratory test results on the samples from seven "suspect cases".
"There are seven new samples from suspected cases. They get isolated until we get negative results. That is our standard procedure," said Lupisan in an interview in Metro Manila.
She said the seven became suspect cases after they manifested fever, cough, and cold, and other flu-like symptoms.
The DOH earlier defined "suspect cases" as those who showed flu-like symptoms and have had direct contact with bird-flu infected animals.
Prior to the seven new cases, Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said there have already been 34 other suspect cases reported to them.
Of the 34 suspect cases reported since the Department of Agriculture's (DA) declaration of the bird flu outbreaks, the DOH said 30 were found in Pampanga while the remaining four were from Nueva Ecija.
"As of August 24, all were negative for Influenza A H5N6," said Ubial in a press conference.
In early August, the DA declared a bird flu outbreak in San Luis, Pampanga. Subsequently, it reported that it also found cases of bird flu cases in two farms in Jaen and San Isidro in Nueva Ecija.
On Thursday, the DA confirmed that the bird flu strain that hit the country can be transmitted to humans although the rate of transmission is "very, very low".
This was seconded by the DOH, which said that there has been proof of the "very, very low" transmission rate in China in 2014.
"There was a transmission to humans in China for H5N6. It's a very rare bird to human transmission. In fact, only 20 cases were recorded," Ubial said.
In addition, the health chief said the H5N6 is not fatal to humans, unlike to birds and fowls.
"There were only two deaths out of 20 (in China). So for humans, H5N6 is not fatal as opposed to other types of avian influenza," said Ubial.
Authorities have culled nearly 800,000 poultry in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija since the start of the bird flu outbreak. HDT/SunStar Philippines