2nd case of swine flu found in the Philippines

In the Philippines, a 50-year-old woman from Chicago tested positive for the virus over the weekend, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told a news conference. She arrived from the United States Wednesday and went to a hospital the next day, complaining of a headache and mild fever.

It was not clear from Duque's comments whether the woman was a Filipino or a naturalized American.

The woman was treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu and was rapidly recovering in a hospital, he said. Eleven relatives, whom she visited in the Philippines, have been advised to stay at home for 10 days to see if they develop flu symptoms.

All those she came in contact with during her flight to Manila were being traced, he said.

"We're stepping up our preparedness. We have been working around the clock," said Duque, who arrived Sunday from Geneva where he attended a World Health Organization meeting on ways to contain the spread of swine flu.

The World Health Organization says over 12,000 cases of swine flu and 86 deaths have been reported in 42 countries. More than half of those cases have been reported in the United States, while most of the deaths occurred in Mexico. The virus was first detected last month.

First Swine Flu Patient in the Philippines

A 10-year-old girl who flew in from the United States earlier this week has become the first Influenza A(H1N1) flu case in the Philippines.

The girl, whose nationality was not disclosed, arrived in the Philippines with her parents from the US and Canada on Monday but did not develop a fever until the following day, the health secretary said.

"The Department of Health is officially announcing this evening the first confirmed case of influenza A(H1N1) in the Philippines," Francisco Duque told reporters here by teleconference from the Geneva headquarters of the WHO.

More than 11,000 cases and 85 deaths have been recorded worldwide since the outbreak of A(H1N1) influenza emerged in Mexico and the United States a month ago.