On Wednesday, one Filipino nurse who came home from the United Arab Emirates, was quarantined after he tested for the virus. Health officials said the nurse had contact with another victim who recently died from the disease.
Four of the nurse’s family members who came to welcome him at the airport were also quarantined as a precaution until the results of the laboratory tests come out to determine if they have been infected. Among the symptoms of the disease are difficulty in breathing, fever and cough.
A government spokesman Herminio Coloma, Jr, said the Department of Foreign Affairs, through the Philippine Embassy in Abu Dhabi, has dispatched a team on April 12 to determine the condition of Filipinos who have reportedly contracted the virus.
“The Embassy is continuously coordinating with the health authorities of Abu Dhabi in monitoring the cases of Filipinos possibly affected with MERS Corona Virus and the DFA urges Filipino nationals to heed the advice given by health authorities,” Coloma said.
He said one Filipino died of the disease on April 10 as confirmed by foreign affairs officials and that five others remain in quarantine.
The Department of Health has updated President Benigno Aquino on the incidence of the disease in the Middle Eastern countries.
While no travel restrictions have been issued as a precaution, Filipinos traveling to the Middle East are advised to avoid contact with persons showing influenza-like illness and to observe frequent hand washing.
Those returning from the Middle East who become ill within two weeks upon arrival are advised to delay visits to crowded places and to seek immediate medical attention. Hospitals have been instructed to report to the DOH any patient who may be suspected of contracting the MERS-CoV infection.
All persons who recently traveled to the Middle East and are experiencing severe respiratory illness should be tested at the nearest hospital. These cases will be reported to the National Epidemiology Center, while the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine will confirm the diagnosis.
The advisory also said the Bureau of Quarantine continues to screen travelers at different points of entry.
The virus belongs to the genus Betacoronavirus and has been traced to an Egyptian tomb bat. The World Health Organization said the virus is now a threat to entire world.
Saudi Arabia accounts for the majority of confirmed Mers-Cov cases and there are also reports of people infected with the virus in Qatar, Jordan, Pakistan and even in Germany and Britain.
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