NAGA CITY --- With 14 confirmed cases of swine flu in the country, City Health Officer Dr. Vito "Butch" Borja assured the public that the city is well-prepared in the event of a swine flu outbreak.
In an interview, Dr. Borja said that a previous suspected case in the city two weeks ago resulted in the activation of a contingency plan formulated for disease outbreaks. The suspected patient, a four-year old girl who had come home with her parents from San Diego, has since been cleared by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Metro Manila.
As a result of the incident and swine flu scare, the local government allotted half a million pesos as a contingency fund in the event of an outbreak. According to Dr. Borja, the city health office purchased 20 sets of Personnel Protection Equipment (PPEs) to protect health workers in direct contact with infected patients. A portion of the fund will also be used for contact tracing to track down possible infected individuals. The remainder of the fund will be used to buy Tamiflu and Oseltamivir, which were proven to counteract Influenza A H1N1's deadly symptoms.
However, the city health officer added that if more cases were reported and confirmed in the city, more funding will be needed to quarantine suspected patients and if needed, entire communities. The local government is obligated to provide for the necessities of quarantined patients, their families, and communities.
A medical technician from the RITM has also been detailed to the city to help monitor and manage suspected swine flu cases. In the event of another suspected case, a sealed ambulance will immediately bring the patient to the RITM facility for further testing. Ideally, the city will need a special room at the Bicol Medical Center to isolate additional Influenza A H1N1 cases, Dr. Borja quipped. But with no such room in existence, he explained that suspected patients can be housed in a quarantined tent.
There is also a contingency plan for isolating neighborhoods or entire barangays in a worse-case scenario. The AFP, PNP, and the PSO will provide security and ensure that no individuals can enter or leave a quarantined area to avoid the spread of the deadly disease. A barangay will remain in quarantine for 7 to 10 days, depending on the findings. Dr. Borja added that the first and best way to prevent a spread of the virus is through quarantine.
Barangay health workers have also been oriented on the A H1N1 virus, says Dr. Borja. He also claimed that the city has enough staff to deal with a crisis. In the event of an outbreak, drug manufacturers have assured the city that they will send the much-needed medicine in two days time. (www.naga.gov.ph)
