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. AP FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – At least 10 of the over 400 Etihad flight passengers suspected of having the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) have yet to be traced by the Department of Health (DOH), an official said.
Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH Emerging Infectious Diseases program manager, said they were able to trace at least 400 or 97 percent of all the passengers in Etihad Airlines flight EY 0424 from Abu Dhabi.
Of the 400, at least 371 have tested negative as of Monday, Lee Suy said.
The passengers were with the Filipino nurse who traveled to the Philippines despite being infected. The nurse, who came into contact with a Filipino paramedic who died of the virus, tested negative upon arriving in the country and did not show the symptoms.
Lee Suy said they were hoping to trace the remaining 10 as the incubation period lapsed on Monday. This means if the passengers did not show symptoms within the period, it is more likely that they are safe from the virus.
Meanwhile, three more Filipinos in Saudi Arabia were confirmed in a laboratory test to have been infected with the virus, according to Dr. Mario Panaligan of the Philippine Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.
All in all, four Filipinos were confirmed infected, while two have died since last year, Panaligan said.
Panaligan said most of the deaths involved those with secondary diseases such as cancer and diabetes.
Despite the entry of the MERS-CoV in the country, Lee Suy assured that there was still no outbreak of the virus.
“As of now, there is no MERS-CoV in the Philippines,” he said.
The virus, which is related to the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, has killed over 90 people since 2012, according to the World Health Organization.
Related Stories
MERS-CoV scare: Search for 174 passengers intensified
Gov’t assures public on MERS-CoV: Don’t panic
Measures set against entry of MERS-CoV