Loren backs two-pronged approach against A(H1N1)

Senator Loren Legarda lauded today an assurance by the Department of Health that it would not altogether discard containment measures against the swine flu virus even as it focuses its scarce resources on mitigating the effects of the virus on the rising number of infected Filipinos.

The chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Loren noted the consensus by international health experts that opportunities for averting the spread of a disease diminish once there is an efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission.

"A two-pronged strategy, that of containment and mitigation, is preferable to just implementing either one," said Loren. "Nonetheless, containment will get more difficult as more people spread the virus before getting into the radar of health officials."

Citing a paper on "Flu Pandemic Mitigation" by the US Homeland Security, Loren noted that the DOH's policies in dealing with the A(H1NI) virus seems congruent with internationally accepted practices.

"It is good to know that our health officials fully understand the gravity of the problem and are doing all they can in addressing it," said Loren.

The paper explained that "pandemic measures that made good sense at earlier phases - such as isolation of patients, contact tracing and voluntary quarantine of contacts - would cease to be effective or feasible."

Just the same, Loren supported a statement by the DOH that it would continue efforts to contain the spread of the virus, while applying a mitigation policy in areas with community outbreaks like Barangay Hilera in Nueva Ecija.

Under the mitigation phase, those who will be prioritized for testing for possible A(H1N1) infection are those who have pre-existing health conditions like diabetes, hypertension and pregnancy that may be aggravated by the virus, said the DOH.

"Meanwhile, our people must continue applying personal risk-reduction measures like frequent handwashing, the wearing of face masks when going into high-risk areas, and social-distancing, if applicable," she said.

The senator also stressed that health authorities may gauge valuable lessons learned from past pandemics such as those noted by the paper, which said:

"During prior pandemics, use of masks, closing of schools, and restrictions on large public gatherings and meetings were recommended to prevent community spread.

"These strategies, however, generally were not found to be effective, possibly because they tended to be instituted late in the outbreak and were not strictly adhered to, or because the control measures were not appropriate to the principle modes of transmission of influenza virus."