MANILA, Philippines -- Almost half of the people in the Philippines confirmed to have contracted the A(H1N1) virus are young people in their in their teens or pre-teens, Department of Health statistics show.

The disease surveillance report generated by the DOH National Epidemiology Center showed that 48.6 percent of the 1,704 cases confirmed so far in the country are in the age bracket of 10 to 19. Those in the 20-29 age bracket comprise 22.2 percent of the confirmed cases monitored from May 5 until June 27.

“They are to be expected in the beginning of the pandemic and why we are seeing mostly mild cases,” said Dr. Eric Tayag, director of the DOH’s epidemiology center.

“As it spreads, the... younger or older age groups will be affected and we may see more severe cases because they are high-risk. That’s why it’s very important to stop or limit the spread at home,” Tayag said in a text message.

The World Health Organization and the DOH consider infants and the elderly as high-risk if they contract the novel virus.

Babies under one year so far comprise just 1.1 percent of the confirmed cases in the Philippines, according to the DOH report. Senior citizens above 64 years old, on the other hand, account for just 0.3 percent.

In the same report, Metro Manila accounted for 1,225 or 71.7 percent of the total confirmed cases in the DOH’s June 27 update. Regions near Metro Manila have the next biggest number. Southern Tagalog comes in a far second with 251 or 14.7 percent of the cases while Central Luzon is third with 117 or 6.8 percent.

Tayag indicated that the virus spreads fast in urban centers such as Metro Manila due to the large number of persons and their high mobility.

“And this is where people can get tested easily,” Tayag said.

In Metro Manila, the DOH monitored 424 confirmed cases in Quezon City, 183 in Manila, 107 in Pasig, 92 in Parañaque and 76 in Makati City.