Another De La Salle University (DLSU) foreign student who came in contact with the female exchange student who was earlier confirmed for Influenza A (H1N1) also tested positive for the virus, Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III disclosed Thursday.

The health official announced that there are seven more positive cases of Influenza A (H1N1), bringing to 29 the number of confirmed cases.

A 20-year-old Japanese male international graduate student of DLSU who arrived in the country last May 12 manifested mild respiratory symptoms such as coughing and sore throat last May 31 and consulted a health clinic on the same day.

He was confirmed positive for A (H1N1) last Wednesday by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

The six other cases are Filipinos who traveled to the United States including three relatives, two female aged 12 and 16 and an 18-year-old male. The others are a 22-year-old male, a 33-year-old pregnant woman and a 52-year-old female executive of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) who recently arrived from the US.

“The six show only mild flu-like symptoms and are now being observed and managed in health facilities,” Duque said.

Classes at the DLSU in Taft, Manila, are still suspended until June 14 while the first Japanese exchange student who was earlier confirmed for the new virus is still under quarantine.

The ADB staff is also under quarantine following ADB protocol and is now being treated for coughing, Duque said.

“In general, we expect more cases because we are doing contact tracing and there is no travel ban,” Duque said.

“Meanwhile, as the world braces for the World Health Organization’s possible announcement of Pandemic level 6, Duque reminded other government agencies as well as the business and private sectors to consider implementing their contingency plans,” Duque added.

Since May 1, the Department of Health (DoH) has recorded a total of 414 Cases under Observation (CUOs), 29 have been confirmed positive for the virus, 47 have pending laboratory results and 338 are negative. There are 13 new CUOs today.

Worldwide, there are now 19,273 cases and 117 deaths from 66 countries.