MANILA, Philippines – Health officials yesterday sought at least P90 million in additional funds to buy anti-viral supplies and prevent any outbreak in the Philippines of a deadly new flu virus that has hit at least 11 countries around the world.

The government is also tightening the screening of incoming travelers.

So far, there has been no reported case of swine flu virus – which the World Health Organization prefers to call by its scientific name “H1N1 influenza A” – in the country.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the amount, which could increase depending on the situation, would be used to buy additional medicine and personal protective gear and better equip hospitals being readied for any suspected cases.

The P90 million is a “tentative” amount to implement government’s “pandemic response action plan,” Duque told reporters following an emergency meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC).

On Thursday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the purchase of some P10 million worth of the flu drug oseltamivir to raise the government’s stockpile.

1 million capsules

Health undersecretary Mario Villaverde said part of the additional fund would be used to buy at least 550,000 capsules of the oseltamivir, a locally available medicine, which flu patients should take twice a day.

A capsule costs P85.

“We have decided to have no less than 1 million capsules of oseltamivir as part of our preparedness,” Duque said.

At present, the Department of Health has a stockpile of 600,000 capsules, good enough for 60,000 patients, Duque said.

“We are also procuring doses for children,” Villaverde said.

He said some of the existing stock would expire “in May, some August” but that the DOH was in consultation with the Bureau of Food and Drugs to determine whether the drugs’ shelf life could be extended.

“Those that are about to expire, we will retest if they are still potent, if they can still extended by another 36 to 40 months,” Villaverde said.

More masks needed

The government will also purchase more protective masks, the major line of defense against the airborne disease. Besides 37,400 regular masks, the DOH has a stock of 21,800 pieces of higher quality N95 masks.

Emergency cash will also be sent to DOH regional offices and five referral centers for suspected cases: the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Alabang, the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila, the Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City, the Vicente Sotto Medical Center in Cebu and the Davao City Medical Center.

With the country still free of the new virus, NDCC Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said strict border monitoring remained the best defense. Six international airports in the country have been screening incoming passengers through thermal scanners that could detect flu-level temperatures.

“The first line of defense is our ports and airports and so we are going to tighten the entry surveillance and screening at our airports, including regular and chartered flights all over the country,” Rabonza said.

Duque said the government was reassigning health monitors to key airports and seaports.

“We have heightened and enhanced the sea surveillance as recommended by the WHO to actively look for cases of influenza-like illness, and [watch out] any strange occurrence of deaths if there are any,” he said.

The government also has instructed the government and private hospitals to report any incidence of influenza and “out-of-season” recurrence of illnesses, Duque said.

It is also tapping call centers to disseminate information on swine flu or to provide links to government agencies regarding any concern about the virus, he added.