RP to screen athletes for bird flu at Southeast Asian Games
The Philippines will screen athletes competing in next month's Southeast Asian Games for bird flu amid heightened fear the deadly virus may spread, the health secretary said Thursday.
"We will have strict screening measures that's for sure," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
He said the Philippines would set up thermal scanners at airports to check if any arrivals were suffering from fever.
If someone is detected to be ill, "we will isolate them, then we will find out what is the cause of the fever. If this is influenza, we will determine what type of influenza so we can do some immediate laboratory diagnostics," said Duque.
The deadly H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus has already killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003 and is now spreading to Europe and Russia, fueling fears of a global influenza pandemic.
Although the deadly strain of the bird flu virus has been detected in neighboring Asian countries, it still has not been found in the Philippines.
Duque justified the strict measures, remarking that even if avian influenza does not reach the Philippines, any rumours of infections in this country could hurt the economy and cause social instability.
He said the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 had caused billions of dollars in losses globally due to panic even though its scope was more limited.
Some 5,000 athletes from 10 countries will converge on Manila and other parts of the Philippines next month for the 23rd Southeast Asian Games
"We will have strict screening measures that's for sure," said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
He said the Philippines would set up thermal scanners at airports to check if any arrivals were suffering from fever.
If someone is detected to be ill, "we will isolate them, then we will find out what is the cause of the fever. If this is influenza, we will determine what type of influenza so we can do some immediate laboratory diagnostics," said Duque.
The deadly H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus has already killed more than 60 people in Asia since 2003 and is now spreading to Europe and Russia, fueling fears of a global influenza pandemic.
Although the deadly strain of the bird flu virus has been detected in neighboring Asian countries, it still has not been found in the Philippines.
Duque justified the strict measures, remarking that even if avian influenza does not reach the Philippines, any rumours of infections in this country could hurt the economy and cause social instability.
He said the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 had caused billions of dollars in losses globally due to panic even though its scope was more limited.
Some 5,000 athletes from 10 countries will converge on Manila and other parts of the Philippines next month for the 23rd Southeast Asian Games
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