Filipinos coming home from Mideast must obtain MERS clearance – DOH

By: Tina G. Santos - 11 years ago

Passengers walk past a thermal scanner at the medical quarantine area at the arrival section of Manila’s International Airport in Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Philippine officials said a Filipino health worker who tested positive for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus has arrived home from the United Arab Emirates. It’s the first known case of the deadly virus in the country. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Health wants Filipinos in the Middle East who have been tested for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) to obtain a clearance to travel before they are allowed to return to the Philippines.

In an interview, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the DOH would recommend to the Philippine embassies in the Middle East, where the virus is said to have originated, that they require Filipinos to present a clearance showing they are negative for the virus before they are allowed to travel back to the Philippines.

The embassies, Ona said, should immediately be notified of the names of the Filipinos who have been required to undergo MERS-CoV tests.

“If you’re in the Middle East and you were identified through contact tracing that you were in close contact with somebody suspected to be infected with the virus, you have to undergo testing. And you should not be allowed to leave until after test results are negative. We will ask the assistance of our ambassadors there and even the airline companies,” he told reporters.

The World Health Organization does not advise special screening at points of entry in relation to MERS-CoV. Neither does the international agency recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.

But Ona, citing provisions of the Quarantine Law of 2004, explained that the government can impose necessary restrictions to travel when public health is stake.

“This is to ensure that the Philippines remains MERS-CoV-free. This is a health issue that involves the whole country. This disease could possibly spread very fast and endanger the health of Filipinos if we do not impose strict measures,” he said.

Ona said they did not want a repeat of what happened last week when a male Filipino nurse from the United Arab Emirates, who was initially diagnosed to be positive with MERS-CoV while in the UAE, returned to Manila without knowing the results of his test.

The OFW was believed to have been exposed to the virus through a Filipino paramedic in the UAE who died recently after contracting MERS-CoV. He was ordered to take laboratory tests but he left for Manila before the results were released.

Upon his arrival in Manila, the results from the UAE were released, showing he was infected. This prompted the DOH to put him and his family in quarantine for further tests, which yielded negative results.

MERS-CoV is a communicable disease that may be passed on to others through close contact with a positive carrier. It has an incubation period of 10 to 14 days and symptoms may include fever, coughing, sneezing and runny nose two weeks after exposure.

Ona said they were taking all the necessary precautions to prevent the disease, which he described as “new and emerging,” from entering the country.

“MERS-CoV is a new and emerging disease, meaning, we may not still fully understand it,” he said. “The development of this disease is still being studied. Remember, there have only been around 200 cases all over the world for the past almost two years. We may still lack some information about it because studies are ongoing.”

Health authorities continue to search for the other passengers of the Etihad Airways that flew the health worker to Manila from the United Arab Emirates.

The DOH said that as of 12 noon Wednesday, there were still 43 out of the 415 passengers on the flight who had yet to submit themselves to nose-and-throat swab test for the deadly virus.

Ona said that so far, 190 of those tested yielded negative results.

The results of the others were still being processed, he said, explaining that it took 9 to 10 hours before the results are known.

Ona said he was confident that all the Etihad flight passengers would test negative for the virus.

“We are confident, yes. We’re happy that many of them yielded negative results. We are still MERS-CoV-free. But that does not mean that we should be complacent. We have to make sure that the disease will not be able to enter the country,” he added.

Ona urged international travelers to be truthful in responding to the health declaration checklist they are given before they disembark.

“The purpose of the health checklist is not only for yourself but also for the safety of your loved ones,” he added.