MikeLigalig.com

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado has ordered the strict monitoring of the cases of influenza A (H1N1) to stem its further spread in the province.

This following the confirmed spread of the virus in Inabanga town in the later part of July, apparently picked up by just one pupil of the Lawis Elementary School from a visit to nearby Negros Island .

Aumentado instructed the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to strengthen its surveillance and monitoring in order to curb the spread of the highly contagious virus.

He said Bohol is lucky that the virus that hit the province is of the mild strain, knowing fully well that the severe strain can be fatal and has in fact claimed lives elsewhere in the country and abroad.

Provincial Health Officer Reymoses Cabagnot however said that provided people take necessary precautions, the local A (H1N1) virus is less dreadful than dengue fever.

Frequent washing of the hands, covering the nose and mouth when one sneezes or coughs, and social distancing, among others, can curb further contamination as this virus is spread through droplets. On the other hand, dengue is spread by mosquitoes.
         

For her part, Dr. Fruserma Mary Uy, head of the Provincial Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (Pesu) said Bohol has 48 confirmed cases so far: the first two in Tagbilaran City, 45 in Inabanga and the latest three in Buenavista town..

She admits though that the number might increase when the results of the latest batch of throat swabs now being examined at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City come in on Tuesday.

While the contamination in Inabanga is now under control - now down to one or two in each of the 10 affected barangays, she said Pesu continues to conduct surveillance in nearby towns especially those barangays near the boundary with Inabanga.

A check of Clarin town proved negative, but true enough, she said, a report of mass flu-like cases in Cangawa Highs School in Buenavista prompted her team to go to the place. The throat swabs of three out of six students with flu-like manifestations turned out to be positive.

She prescribed Tamiflu tablets for those with fever, and conducted intense information drive on preventing the virus' spread among students, teachers, parents and even the community.

Uy also said her team's visit to Barangay Dait apparently was "too late." Students there had manifested flu-like symptoms but were already cured when they got there.

But the situation in Barangay Rufo Hill was different. Like in Lawis, 16 students in one classroom exhibited flu-like symptoms. She also requested the local authorities to fetch by ambulance the feverish students in Barangay Lubang already adjacent to Danao town so that her team may take throat swabs.

She "covered" these areas, meaning she prescribed Tamiflu for those with fever and those in contact with the former like what she did in Inabanga.

Sha added that Inabanga Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy did the right thing when he postponed the municipal athletic meet to only two weeks ago - until after the Influenza A (H1N1) cases subsided, and when he asked Aumentado to skip his town in the simultaneous medical missions that the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) conducted all over Bohol last September 7.

She thanked Jumamoy for the cooperation his administration has extended to contain the spread of the virus. She also asked Buenavista Mayor Elsa Tirol to follow suit so that the cases in her town will similarly subside early.

Uy also said the alleged cases in Sagbayan are "mere hearsay" on the part of PHO, especially that she has not received reports to the effect from government or health authorities there.

If she had her way, she would like to keep the virus off Danao and Sagvayan as these towns now also have rapidly-growing tourism attractions - the former with its zip line, canyon swing and cable car ride, cliff climbing with tree roots as footholds, trekking and going into the Magtangtang Cave - the lair of local hero Francisco Sendrijas, a.k.a. Francisco Dagohoy who led an 85-year revolt against the Spaniards.

On the other hand, Sagbayan has developed its version of Disneyland with bigger than life-size replicas of Disney characters, swimming pools, butterfly dome, conference area and a cemented pathway with railings that come off as a smaller "Great Wall of China" leading to an observation deck that offers a panoramic view of the Chocolate Hills, the sea, Bohol's islets and the province of Cebu beyond.

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