BY CRIS DIAZ
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: Health officials in Northern Mindanao on Thursday scrambled to determine the cause of the “influenza like illness” that has reportedly spread throughout the region.
Joseph Benedicto, a representative from the Regional DOH office here, said that he was not aware of the region wide surveillance, but admitted that health officials in Cagayan de Oro City are conducting surveillance of the illness.
“We will wait for the result of the surveillance conducted by the city government here before we will make official statement about the influenza like illness,” Benedicto told MDNN. Provincial Governor Peter Unabia, of Misamis Oriental, on Thursday also issued a directive for the adoption of minimal health protocol requiring workers to use face masks in offices.
Earlier, on Wednesday, Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Rolando Uy signed an Executive Order for the adoption of minimal health protocol as report about the alleged outbreak of the influenza like illness spread in the city.
Private Universities and Colleges here suspended classes after the influenza like illness downed students and school personnel who reportedly suffered cough and cold.
Education officials also issued a memorandum for the adoption of health protocol and the implementation of the modular classes in schools where influenza cases have been reported.
Health officials allayed fears of a Nipah virus outbreak here saying the country remains free of the Nipah virus since it was detected in 1998 in Malaysia. -0-
