Foreigner tests positive for MERS virus; Filipina in isolation

A 36-year-old foreigner who arrived in the Philippines from the Middle East is under quarantine at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) after testing positive for the MERS virus.

Health Secretary Janette Garin said several people whom the foreigner had come in close contact with have been traced. She said one of them, a Filipina exhibiting mild symptoms, had been isolated at the RITM and her test results were being awaited.

At least seven other people who had close contact with the patient

were under home quarantine.

The patient’s home country was not immediately disclosed.

It’s the second confirmed case of Middle East respiratory syndrome in the Philippines. In February, a Filipino nurse tested positive for MERS after arriving home Saudi Arabia. She was cleared of the virus the same month.

In the latest case, the patient arrived in the Philippines on June 19 from Saudi Arabia but also stayed in Dubai. He left on a second trip while not yet exhibiting any symptoms and came back to the Philippines, said officials, who did not want to disclose where the patient went.

“Last Saturday, 11:30 a.m., the RITM received a referral – a foreigner from Middle East who has cough. At 5 p.m., the test yielded a positive result,” Garin disclosed in a press conference yesterday.

When the patient returned to the PH the second time, he was already in the late part of the 14-day incubation period for MERS-COV.

The patient reportedly developed a fever and cough on June 30. He sought medical care on July 2, tested positive for the MERS virus on July 4 and was transferred to the RITM .

Garin said around 200 passengers who were on the second flight with him were being traced.

Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy, the health department spokesperson said 19 other close contacts of the foreigner were still being traced.

Getting better

Garin, however allayed fears of the public despite the latest discovery saying there is no need to panic as the patient is already getting better.

“Currently he is being monitored, but he is stable and very cooperative,” she disclosed.

Tighten surveillance

President Aquino directed the DOH to “tighten surveillance and quarantine measures at ports of entry” and to ensure prompt reporting by all patients who show symptoms of the disease for immediate isolation, treatment and contact tracing, Communications secretary Herminio Coloma said. (With a report from Genalyn D. Kabiling)