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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