DIGOS CITY, Philippines — The influenza A(H1N1) scare that has been gripping many residents of Davao del Sur for the past days has resulted in increased sales in fruits touted to have high vitamin C content.

Dionesia Meparanong, a fruit vendor in Bansalan town, said sales of mangoes, pomelo and other types of fruits these days have increased compared to sales prior to the spread of the virus.

“People believe that eating more fruits with high vitamin C content could help them against flu and other diseases,” Meparanong said.

But along with the brisk sales, the Inquirer noted that prices of many fruits have gone up, too.

Mango now sells P40-50 per kg, up from P30-35 per kg last month.

When asked about this, Meparanong said vendors were helpless against the price increase because supply is becoming limited due to high demand.

Dr. Edwin Mayor, head of the provincial health office’s A(H1N1) task force, said while vitamin C may be able to increase one’s immune system, people should also be reminded that there are many other ways to fight illnesses.

He said these include more water intake and abundant sleep.

Don’t panic

Mayor also appealed anew to residents not to panic in the wake of the increasing number of H1N1 cases in the country.

“A(H1N1) cases in the Philippines are only mild and is curable even by self-quarantine only. Compare that to dengue, which already claimed two lives in Digos City alone this year,” he said.

In Zamboanga City, Fr. Antonio Moreno, president of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, said he had already suspended classes for 10 days in preschool and high school levels effective Friday after the Department of Health in Western Mindanao found 166 children with flu-like symptoms.

“We can’t really determine if that’s seasonal flu or related to A(H1N1). So just to make sure, we decided to call off classes for 10 days. The kids can return to school on July 13,” Moreno said.

The school was earlier placed under close observation by health officials after it was confirmed that a 9-year-old boy studying there got the virus. The boy had already recovered, according to Dr. Aristedes Tan, DOH director for Western Mindanao.

Tan said the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) is now validating the flu-like cases in Ateneo.

Complaint

In the city of San Fernando, Pampanga, an A(H1N1) survivor complained about what he said was the “inefficient and irresponsible” way the Department of Health handled his case.

In a letter e-mailed to the House committee on health and the World Health Organization on June 28, Bonifacio Guevarra II detailed his experience, saying he hoped the DOH, especially its Central Luzon office, and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine would improve their system of handling flu cases.

Reached for comments, DOH regional director Dr. Rio Magpantay, said: “I have to reconcile his accusations with my staff and that of the central office.”

Asked if the DOH has set up a feedback system for A(H1N1) patients, Magpantay said: “We are learning. This is a new virus. We are aware that we have to improve the system. We are open to comments and we discuss them to come up with better management.”

Guevarra said it took the DOH and RITM eight days—not the standard two to three days—to release the result of his tests.

In between, no DOH doctor or nurse made a house visit to check on him or called to inquire if the symptoms had waned or worsened, Guevarra said.

It was when the result was finally released on June 25 that the DOH regional office gave him 10 tablets of Oseltamivir, a brand of the anti-flu medicine Tamiflu, that were to expire in five days, he said.

Airport situation

At the Clark Freeport, officials said although international passenger volume fell by 16 percent in the Asia-Pacific region due to the global economic crisis and the A(H1N1) pandemic, the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) enjoyed a 21 percent rise in passenger volume in the first five months of 2009.

The number of international travelers totaled 251,719 from January to May, up by 42,861 compared to the same period in 2008, according to Victor Jose Luciano, president and chief executive officer of the Clark International Airport Corp (CIAC).

The government-owned CIAC oversees the development of the 2,500-ha aviation complex converted from the military airport of the United States Air Force.