CEBU CITY
About a third of more than 600 inmates of the Mandaue City Jail have suffered from flu-like symptoms since last week, and a health official warned the ailments could spread faster in such congested quarters. Officials from the Department of Health (DOH) in Central Visayas visited the jail Sunday to collect swab samples from about 177 inmates, as a precaution against influenza A (H1N1). Most of these inmates suffer from pre-existing conditions, one factor that has turned an otherwise mild flu into a potentially fatal illness.
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Tacloban City
The number of A(H1N1) positive cases in Eastern Visayas has reached the hundred mark, has affected about 19 schools in the Region and is about to drain the P1-Million funding of DOH. Department of Health Regional Director Edgardo Gonzaga informed the members of the local media during the special Tuesday episode of Harampang Ha PIA, that the number of A(H1N1) cases under observation, as of July 14, is now 256.
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MANILA
Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni, who was released by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Maimbung, Sulu after holding him captive for nearly six months, arrived Sunday morning here from Zamboanga City.
The plane carrying Vagni, 62, landed at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City past 11 a.m. Accompanied by the crisis committee that negotiated with the bandits for his release, the Italian was welcomed by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Italian ambassador Rubens Anna Fedele.
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COTABATO CITY, Philippines
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo has just finished reading the Sunday gospel and was about to start his homily at around 8:40 a.m. when a loud explosion ripped a roadside roasted pig store in front of the Cotabato Immaculate Conception Cathedral.
The blast at the LC Omega Letchon Haus left five persons dead, including a boy, two Army troopers, an elderly woman, and a man said to be suffering from a mental disorder, Mayor Muslimin Sema said, quoting police reports relayed to him. One of the fatalities was identified as Ruby Ramirez, a lechon vendor.
Superintendent Willie Dangane, city police chief, said the explosion at the corner of Macacua Street and Quezon Avenue happened as churchgoers were filing out after an early morning mass.
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Maasin City, Southern Leyte (3 July)
Although the province remains free from AH1N1 dreaded virus, the provincial hospital here sent medical technologists for training to determine if there will be a reported AH1N1 case.
Dr. Noel Lumen, Head of the Technical Department at the Salvacion Oppus Yniguez Memorial Provincial Hospital reported that they sent (1) medical technologist in every district hospital, to include the SOYMPH throughout he province at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), based in Tacloban City in order to know how to respond to the situation.
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