CANDON CITY — The Department of Health (DoH) will strengthen its campaign against the A(H1N1) virus after six students in this city contracted the deadly virus, the new DoH Secretary said Monday.

DoH Secretary Enrique Ona said there will be a continuous monitoring and prevention program against the spread of the dreaded virus nationwide.

The A(H1N1) has been less publicized lately since discussions at the World Health Organization (WHO) took up the adverse effect on world economy of too much media focus on the dangers of the deadly flu.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DoH manager on emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, clarified that the A (H1N1) infections in this city were not caused by the second wave of the virus but by the former strain of A (H1N1).

“The new cases of Influenza A(H1N1) should not be a cause of panic, as the virus that the students contracted was of same strain that was recorded when it first hit the country a year ago,” Dr. Suy said.

“If we look at the pattern for this month, it was also the same time last year when cases of A (H1N1) started increasing,” he said.

But Dr. Suy warned the public that it was possible that a new strain of the virus may emerge.

Since the DoH has lifted the automatic suspension of classes in schools where cases of A(H1N1) are recorded, Dr. Suy said students of those schools will have to be closely monitored for possible infection.

To prevent A(H1N1) infection, Candon City Health Officer Narciso Ramos administered free vaccines against the virus in the different city schools.

As to the recovery situations of the students tested positive for A (H1N1) in the city, it was reported that their health is now improving.

It was also reported that the country had its first case of the A (H1N1) in May 2009 in a 10-year-old boy from the US. The first cases of the virus were meanwhile recorded in the US and Mexico in April 2009.

As of June 2009, at least 129 cases of A (H1N1) were reported in 40 schools all over the country.

As to the symptoms of A (H1N1) is concerned, it was learned that this was similar to the symptoms of common flu which include fever, fatigue, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms can develop within one to four days and range from mild to severe.