All Filipino nationals in the United Kingdom and Ireland have been advised to take precautionary measures amid the reported cases of H1N1 virus that has spread to several countries worldwide, said the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

In a statement, DFA said 200,000 Filipinos are in the UK while there are 12,000 Pinoys based in Ireland.

“The (Philippine) Embassy (in London) also instructed the Philippine Honorary Consulates under its jurisdiction to closely monitor suspected and confirmed swine flu cases and to report cases involving Filipino nationals,” the statement said.

The Embassy also announced its hotline number (07802790695) for Filipinos who have concerns about A/H1N1 virus.

The Embassy also noted that Filipino healthcare workers are among the most vulnerable to possible infection “as they are exposed to the virus and their resistance levels may not be strong because of long work hours.”

“They need to take care of themselves as they take care of others," Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu said.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Nurses Association of UK, the largest organization of Filipino nurses in the UK, helped distribute the Embassy's advisory and other UK government reminders on the A/H1N1 outbreak.

The World Health Organization office in Geneva on Monday afternoon reported that there are almost 1,000 confirmed cases of swine flu spread out now in 18 countries.

There are 72 confirmed cases in Europe alone. Spain has the most number of confirmed cases of H1Ni with 40, 15 in the United Kingdom, eight in Germany, two each in France and Italy, and one each in Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria and Holland.