No confirmed case of fatal Enterovirus-71 in Philippines: official

The Philippine government said Wednesday that so far there was no confirmed case of deadly Enterovirus-71 (EV-71) in the country.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda assured that the necessary precautionary measures are in place following an outbreak of the reportedly fatal respiratory-neurological syndrome affecting mostly children in Cambodia.

"We are monitoring any possible entrance of enterovirus through people coming from abroad. So we are making sure that this is being addressed and so far we don't have any incident of enterovirus coming from abroad," Lacierda said in a briefing.

Lacierda noted that the Department of Health (DOH) had already instructed the Bureau of Quarantine to further increase the screening of all arriving travelers as a routine precaution.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona alerted all hospitals to ensure timely reporting of suspected cases and outbreaks of Enterovirus- 71, he added.

The DOH received an official report from the World Health Organization (WHO) that it discovered the presence of Enterovirus- 71 in samples that were collected from the patients in Cambodia.