A Malacañang official on Friday assured the public that the first Enterovirus 71 case recorded in the Philippines is milder than the Cambodian strain that has killed over 50 children.

"There's no cause for concern. It's not the same strain as the Cambodian virus," presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a briefing in Malacañang on Friday.

EV-71 is an often fatal strain of the hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). It has at latest count claimed the lives of 56 children in Cambodia.

Earlier in the day, the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed that a one-year-old boy from Mindanao was confirmed to have been infected by the deadly EV-71 virus.
 
Health Secretary Enrique Ona, however, said the symptoms exhibited by the boy were mild and the patient has since recovered at home.

"It's HFMD that's a different strain from the virus that was reported in Cambodia and the [Filipino] boy has been treated," said Lacierda.

In a separate interview after the briefing, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said she also asked the DOH whether the boy had a history of travel.

"My first question was: may history of travel ba? And they said no, so it's a local case," she said.

She said the DOH had tested eight patients with the same symptoms but that only the boy in Davao tested positive for EV-71.

"[The DOH] sent out an alert to all hospitals when we got wind of the deaths in Cambodia, that's part of normal protocol that DOH implements whenever a fatal disease like that comes up like SARS or bird flu," she said.

Lacierda had said the Philippines is capable of dealing with the virus should it reach the country.

On Friday, the Palace official said the World Health Organization even commended the Philippines for its handling of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) threat.

"[So the] DOH is fully capable of addressing any concerns on the enterovirus," he said. — LBG, GMA News