MANILA, Philippines—Like most viral illnesses, an overwhelming number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases will go away with time, and paracetamol and a good decongestant can manage the symptoms of the swine flu, according to a health official.

“The illness is self-limiting,” Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Friday night.

“If you have fever, you take paracetamol. If you have colds, you take a decongestant,” he said.

Villaverde on Sunday said that most swine flu cases were mild. “They will only need symptomatic and supportive treatment like paracetamol, bed rest and plenty of fluids, fruit juices,” he said.

“Therefore, they can be managed on out-patient basis even by general practitioners,” he added.

Villaverde’s statements came in the wake of a Department of Health (DoH) memorandum that limited the government’s distribution of anti-flu drugs Oseltamivir or Tamiflu to patients who are considered high-risk.

“Generally, the cases in the Philippines and in other countries are mild,” Villaverde said when asked why Oseltamivir would no longer be given to all confirmed swine flu cases except those with preexisting conditions.

High-risk cases are those who are likely to develop health complications upon contracting the swine flu virus. They are those with preexisting conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and HIV.

The elderly, infants and those who are pregnant are also at an increased risk if they contract the virus.

People who have close contact with A(H1N1)-positive patients will also no longer be given Oseltamivir, according to the DoH guidelines.

Exempt

Exempt from this rule are health workers who came in contact with the patients without the necessary protective gear such as face masks.

Villaverde said limiting government’s distribution of Oseltamivir to avoid a shortage in the near future was not due to the surge in confirmed cases in the country—861 as of Friday.

Villaverde added that such was already the case in the United States—that health officials said had entered the mitigation phase much earlier because of the faster spread of the virus there.

At the start of the swine flu crisis, the DoH said that the government had a stockpile of 1.5 million doses of Oseltamivir.

Oseltamivir is now reportedly going for P150 a dose.

The DoH mitigation response at the beginning of a community outbreak gives particular attention to the vulnerable group of people who are likely to develop complications.

It encouraged early consultation to prevent complications and severe outcome.

The country’s first swine flu-related fatality was due to congestive heart failure aggravated by pneumonia. The fatality, a House of Representatives employee, was also found to have an enlarged kidney, spleen and kidney, a tumor in the uterus and mild goiter.

Hold drills

Even if the DoH has relaxed its rules in dealing with the swine flu virus, now is the best time to come up with a plan and to hold drills in preparation for its more virulent form, Sen. Richard Gordon said Sunday.

Gordon, chair of the Philippine National Red Cross, said the government should come up with a plan to deal with viruses more virulent than swine flu.

He said schools, communities and companies should have their respective plans and conduct drills.

“Now is the good time to practice,” Gordon told dzBB radio. “If we don’t practice, we will end up unprepared for the real fight.”

The senator said that if the government was holding drills for earthquakes, it should also hold drills for virulent viruses.

Before the DoH announcement the other day of its more relaxed preventive measures, Gordon said the different actions taken by the DoH, the House (which shut down offices last week) and even Malacañang in dealing with the virus showed that there was no coordination.

Over 3,000 employees of the House will return to work Monday, with Speaker Prospero Nograles giving his assurance that the Batasang Pambansa complex had been thoroughly cleaned.

Nograles said more stringent measures aimed at preventing the spread of the swine flu virus had been put in place. The House belatedly decided to put up thermal scanners in all of the complex’s entry points.

The House leadership will hold an executive committee meeting on Tuesday to assess the health security issue at the Batasan, specifically its impact on preparations for the State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27.

Nograles reported that all areas in the complex, particularly the third floor of the Ramon Mitra Building where the country’s first swine flu-related fatality was based, had been sanitized and that almost all employees had been given influenza vaccine.

Uninterrupted service

Three other employees have been diagnosed as having the swine flu but have all recovered. None of their immediate family members were infected.

“With four A(H1N1) cases, the House should operate with the least number of personnel that will allow uninterrupted operations and service,” Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon said.

In Northern Mindanao, the health department announced on Saturday that the region had 10 confirmed cases of the virus but said all of the patients had fully recovered.

Jun Galvan, DoH regional spokesperson, said two of the patients are from Cagayan de Oro City, six from Bukidnon and two, who were quarantined in Cotabato City, are from Ozamiz City.

In Iloilo City, the Department of Tourism (DoT) on Sunday urged travel operators and tourism industry players to focus on boosting domestic tourism to offset the expected decline in foreign travel due to the flu pandemic. With reports from Christine O. Avendaño and Gil Cabacungan Jr. in Manila; Ma. Cecilia L. Rodriguez, Inquirer Mindanao; and Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas