A vendor sells face masks on a busy street in Manila June 11, 2009. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Thursday, 15 new cases of new flu virus were confirmed bringing the total number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases to 92, the highest number in southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MANILA, June 11 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine health authorities reported 15 newly-confirmed A/H1N1 cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 92 in the Southeast Asian country.

    All the cases -- mild in nature -- are Filipinos, four of whom had traveled to countries affected by the virus, Health Secretary Francisco Duque told reporters.

    One of the new cases was found at the Helera Elementary School in the northern province of Nueva Ecija. The voluntary suspension of classes started Thursday in the school, Duque said, adding that contact tracing is being carried out to determine cases and to put affected households in self-quarantine.

    With this development, Duque reiterated his call for school authorities across the country to continue reporting to their respective local government officials any unusual occurrence of flu-like symptoms among their students, especially those who traveled lately to countries affected with the novel virus.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III gestures during a news conference at the Department of Health (DOH) headquarters in Manila June 11, 2009. Duque said on Thursday, 15 new cases of new flu virus were confirmed bringing the total number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases to 92, the highest number in southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    "We still do not have community-level transmission. That is why we are still in the containment stage," he said, adding that the authorities plan to shift the management of A/H1N1 from containment to mitigation.

    "With mitigation, the government will be recommending to affected areas with community level transmission to focus...on taking care of the sick, providing guidance for people to protect themselves and their families, and monitoring the outbreak," he said.

    Duque said that during mitigation, the government will work closely with the World Health Organization to exchange information about the virus in the country, help understand how the pandemic is evolving and follow developments in scientific and clinical issues.

    Since May 1, 2009, the Philippine Department of Health has monitored a total of 698 Cases Under Observation, including the 92positive to the flu virus. Currently, 44 cases have pending laboratory results, and 562 were negative and have been discarded from quarantine.

A woman buys face masks to a vendor on a busy street in Manila June 11, 2009. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said on Thursday, 15 new cases of new flu virus were confirmed bringing the total number of Influenza A(H1N1) cases to 92, the highest number in southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

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