The Philippines is now the eighth country in the world with the biggest number of swine flu cases, according to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO Pandemic Update issued last Friday showed the Philippines with a total of 1,709 confirmed Influenza (A)H1N1 cases, surpassing Argentina's 1,587 cases and Japan's 1,446. The Philippines also overtook Thailand, which had 1,414 cases as of Friday, the report said. The Philippines thus gained the distinction of being the country with the biggest number of H1N1 cases in Southeast Asia. However, the WHO report noted that the number of deaths linked to swine flu is comparatively lower in the Philippines than in other worst-hit countries. There has only been one H1N1 fatality documented since the novel virus entered the country. In contrast, the United States has 170 deaths so far while Mexico has 119. Moreover, the Department of Health said of the 1,709 confirmed H1N1 cases in the Philippines, 86 percent or 1,485 have fully recovered. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III confirmed that there are still 224 H1N1 patients, constituting 14 percent of the cases, who are still undergoing treatment, but mostly in their homes. He also stressed that all the cases “exhibited mild symptoms with the most ccmmon as fever (86 percent), cough (81 percent), and nasal congestion (49 percent).'' Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) called on companies to prepare for what the DOH warned as the “second wave” of the H1N1 pandemic. The TUCP said companies should draw up “contingent business continuity plans” to prevent their personnel from falling prey to the virus, thus affecting their businesses. “This early, we are encouraging firms to find ways to ensure the least possible workplace disruption, before the feared second surge overwhelms us. Workers have to be assured of the least possible stoppage in their jobs and income,'' it said.
