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MANILA, Philippines?The Saudi Cabinet has announced the second case of a Filipina nurse infected with the Influenza A(H1N1) virus, as well as two other children, effectively increasing in two weeks the kingdom?s number of people infected with the virus to 14.
The announcement was carried on Wednesday by Saudi-based newspapers and online news services like Khaleej Times, A1SaudiArabia.com, and Riyadh News.
In a meeting in Jeddah on Monday, the Council of Ministers chaired by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz heard the report of Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah on these three new cases in Riyadh, Dhahran, and Madinah.
The Cabinet called for greater international coordination and cooperation to combat the swine flue pandemic in preparation for the Haj and Umrah (Ramadan rites) in August.
The Department of Foreign Affairs ordered the Philippine consulate in Jeddah to look into the report and monitor the health of the second Filipina nurse.
In briefing the Cabinet, the Saudi health minister said the new cases included a Filipino nurse working at King Fahd National Guard Hospital.
He said the nurse, whose identity was withheld, arrived at the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh on June 10 by Cathay Pacific flight 330200 from the Philippines via Bahrain.
The two other cases are a 13-year-old boy, who is the brother of the patient already admitted to Saudi Aramco Hospital, and an eight-month-old girl whose father was diagnosed with the infection and is currently being treated at King Fahd Hospital in Madinah.
Dr. Khaled Mirghalani, Saudi health ministry spokesperson, said the three new patients were already treated and ?are fast recovering and are in sound health.?
Mirghalani urged those who had traveled with the nurse to immediately get in touch with the ministry if they develop any symptoms of the disease.
On May 29, a Filipina nurse working at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh became the first confirmed case of H1N1 infection in the kingdom. The nurse, who has since recovered, had returned from a vacation in the Philippines and manifested symptoms of infection three days later.
In China, the Philippine consulate general in Hong Kong reported on Wednesday that two Filipinos were under medical isolation in Hong Kong after health authorities confirmed and classified them as ?imported A(H1N1) case.?
Consul General Claro Cristobal said the consulate had assigned a consular officer to monitor the health and provide necessary assistance to the two patients.
?The consulate reiterates its earlier call on Filipinos working in or intending to travel to Hong Kong to exercise the highest vigilance against the A(H1N1),? Cristobal said in its advisory to the DFA and the Philippine community in Hong Kong.
In Shanghai, the Philippine consulate general said two Filipinos were also put under quarantine for H1N1.
It said that the post was in the process of contacting the Filipinos and local government agencies to secure more information.
In Beijing, the Philippine embassy reported that two Filipinos were put under quarantine after having been in close contact with an H1N1-infected person.
Although there were 80 reported laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 in mainland China, none of them involved Filipinos.
