NEARLY A year ago, in October 2009, Department of Health records indicated there were 5,212 cases of Influenza A(H1N1) infections in the Philippines, of which 30 people were confirmed to have died.
Back then, the fear and hysteria over the spread of the A(H1N1) virus was immediate and palpable. As early as May 2009, the World Health Organization had raised a pandemic alert over the virus, with more than 40 countries announcing outbreaks of swine flu in their backyards from the time the disease was first detected in Mexico. A few months later, US President Barack Obama also declared the swine flu surge in his country a national emergency. The Philippines, for its part, geared for the worst by placing an order with the WHO for some P100 million worth of vaccines, instituting large-scale testing and monitoring of possible new infections, and intensifying a national campaign to encourage people to practice good respiratory hygiene and maintain clean surroundings to stanch the spread of the virus.http://ping.fm/efPwj
Back then, the fear and hysteria over the spread of the A(H1N1) virus was immediate and palpable. As early as May 2009, the World Health Organization had raised a pandemic alert over the virus, with more than 40 countries announcing outbreaks of swine flu in their backyards from the time the disease was first detected in Mexico. A few months later, US President Barack Obama also declared the swine flu surge in his country a national emergency. The Philippines, for its part, geared for the worst by placing an order with the WHO for some P100 million worth of vaccines, instituting large-scale testing and monitoring of possible new infections, and intensifying a national campaign to encourage people to practice good respiratory hygiene and maintain clean surroundings to stanch the spread of the virus.http://ping.fm/efPwj
