09/01/2011
MANILA, Philippines - There are no plans yet to release a travel advisory to China and Vietnam amid the new avian flu virus scare.
Eric Tayag, chief of the Department of Health’s National Epidemiology Center, said only those who have been exposed to livestock infected with the mutant H5N1 virus are the only ones prone to get the disease.
As such, President Benigno Aquino III and his entourage do not need to undergo quarantine since they will not be exposed to poultry.
Aquino is in China for a state visit. He will be back on Saturday.
Tayag noted the Philippines is now on its 8th year of being bird flu-free.
Still, the thermal screenings in airports are always activated for flu monitoring for any disease, not only on bird flu.
He reiterated that there is an animal-to-human transmission of the virus so far. There is no case yet of person-to-person transmission.
If ever a person gets infected of the disease, he cannot transfer it to another person.
The H5N1 virus is deadlier than the original H1N1 virus and even dengue. In a span of only two days, a patient can die of the disease, according to experts. – By Sol Aragones, ABS-CBN News
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