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MANILA, Philippines – The first ever Filipino victim of the dreaded Influenza A(H1N1) is doing well, but health authorities have said they would observe the 17 people the patient had close contact with.

The patient – a 10-year-old girl who arrived last May 18 after traveling to United States and Canada – is being quarantined in a facility the Department of Health (DOH) wouldn’t disclose in the mean time.

In press conference in Manila on Friday, Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde said among the 17 people the young girl had been in close contact with were members of her family.

The girl’s mother was among the first people in the household to undergo testing. The result was negative.

“Negative siya, that’s the good news. And since negative ang mother and we hope that since the mother is the closest in contact sana wala nang ibang na-infect,” Villaverde said.

After arriving home from the airport, the girl came in close contact with the people in the household. The next day, she developed a fever.

After confirming that the girl carried the deadly novel virus, the DOH conducted contact tracing and eventually found out who were in danger of possibly contracting the disease – that had already downed more than 11,000 people globally.

Doctors required the mother has already taken medicine and undergone a prophylaxis, as she was the one watching her daughter while in quarantine.

“We are conducting a thorough assessment today of all the household contacts. Ginagawa na namin ang lahat ng dapat magawa [We are doing what are needed to be done],” Villaverde assured.

The Health official stressed that despite the global outbreak and the virus reaching the Philippines, the DOH sees no reason why a travel ban should be ordered. - GMANews.TV

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/162388/1st-Pinoy-A(H1N1)-victim-had-contact-with-17-people—DOH