MANILA, Philippines?As part of its protocol, the Department of Health (DOH) did not inform the House of Representatives that the death of one of its staff members was related to the swine flu virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said Tuesday.

?I explained to them that we couldn?t announce the identity beforehand because it?s our protocol, so the employees would not panic and so that we could do the contact tracing in an orderly manner,? Duque said.

He said he explained the procedures to Rep. Arthur Pingoy, chair of the House committee on health, and Rep. Roilo Golez who criticized the DOH for not disclosing that the fatality worked in the House.

The health secretary said based on experience, ?some (known contacts of a confirmed case) would refuse to make a disclosure, or they would hide and avoid interviews.?

?I told them they were not put under any unnecessary risk,? Duque said, adding that DOH personnel were doing their job of investigating the transmission chain to contain further infection in the House of Representatives.

Of the 3,000 House employees, three have so far tested positive for the virus, including the 49-year-old fatality.

The husband of the deceased House employee has already tested negative for the A(H1N1) virus despite developing fever and cough ahead of his late wife.

While the DOH did not disclose the fatality?s identity, Pingoy announced that the woman worked in one of the House offices. The House leadership reacted to this news by suspending work for five days until Sunday.

The House leadership also ordered flu shots for its employees. The vaccine for the new A(H1N1) strain, however, is still being developed.

Closure not recommended

Under its Interim Guideline No. 13 on the prevention and control of infection in workplaces, the DOH does not recommend the closure of workplaces as a way to contain the further spread of the virus.

It said that if an employee had been confirmed to have been infected, the employee and his close work contacts should exercise home quarantine until he recovers.

?It?s not right to undertake extreme public measures like closing public places like schools and churches since our observation is that these are mostly mild cases,? Duque said.