PHILIPPINES NEWS SERVICE — THE Department of Health yesterday confirmed that 33 new cases, all mild in nature, have tested positive for Influenza A (H1N1) bringing the total cases in the country to 344.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said 24 of the cases are male.
The age range of these cases is from 1 to 52 with a median age of 17. All but two of the 33 are Filipinos.
“These new additional cases bring the total count to 344,” he said.
While he confirmed the 33 new cases, the health chief also reported that 149 more fully recovered patients were sent home.
He said the 149 patients brought the total count of recovered A (H1N1) cases to 242.
“So far the country has no reported case of death or severe illness in all of the 344 documented positive cases,” Duque stressed.
In its latest report dated June 15, the WHO reported 35,928 cases and 163 deaths from 76 reporting countries.
The DoH does not need additional funding at this time for its campaign against the Influenza A(H1N1) virus even though the number of confirmed cases continues to rise.
Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde in a press briefing in Malacañang yesterday said the DoH has so far accessed P93.55 million from the calamity funds of which about 50 percent to 60 percent have been expended.
“So far, today, we have not yet, we are not yet seeing the need for additional funding. We believe we have already enough medicines,” Villaverde said.
“We still have 1.25 million doses in our stockpile. That is aside from the Oseltamivir that we have distributed in our regional offices and in the five national referral hospitals, so if there is a need both in the private sector or provinces they have to just send their request to our regional hospitals but of course this should also fall within the criteria because some people might say they just want it so they will be protected,” he said.