3 Pinoy nurses may have MERS

uthorities are chec ing reports that three Filipino nurses in the Middle ast have caught the Middle ast Respiratory yndrome coronavirus (M R - oV). pea ing during a health forum of the Philippine ollege of Physicians, ad- ministrator armelita Dimzon of the Overseas or ers elfare dministration (O ) said two of the nurses are reportedly in the nited rab mirates, while the third is in Riyadh, audi rabia.

Our labor attach s are coordinating with the health authorities there... to get an update, she said.

In a nion, an overseas Filipino wor er (OF ) from audi rabia was placed in isolation after showing the common symptoms of M R - oV fever and coughing.

duardo Posadas, an Fernando ity health officer, said the patient arrived on aturday and voluntarily underwent consultation at the city health office after he felt ill and wea .

He has fever and cough that s why we immediately referred him to the Department of Health (DOH) for further e amination, he said. e are still waiting for the laboratory result.

The DOH regional epidemiology and surveillance unit e amined the patient and placed him in isolation for days, Posadas said.

Dimzon said five Filipino paramedics earlier reported to have contracted the M R - oV in the have tested negative for the virus. The five are among the si paramedics hospitalized for the contagious disease.

The si th paramedic did not survive, ma ing him the second Filipino to have died from the virus.

Dimzon said despite the continued spread of M R - oV in the Middle ast, O has not observed a decline in the deployment of Filipino wor ers.

ctually those who ve been there were saying they hardly tal about that, she said. ut of course we always remind them to be careful, to observe precautionary measures.

Dimzon said information about M R - oV is now part of the modules being used in pre-departure orientation seminar of departing OF s.

yndon ee uy, DOH program manager for merging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases, said the multi-agency Tas Force M R - oV has not yet contacted 0 of the passengers of the tihad irlines flight that brought home a Filipino nurse found positive of M R - oV.

If ever the 0 passengers did not develop symptoms, considering the profile of the disease, it s safe to say there s no problem, he said. ut we re still trac - ing because we don t want people to be complacent about this. The threat will always be there.

The tas force has not stopped loo ing for the 0, although the -day incubation period for M R - oV lapsed last Monday, he added.

Records showed that of the passengers of the flight, the DOH was able to test 3 passengers. Out of the 3 e amined, 3 were negative for the virus and results of the tests done on the rest are still being processed.

The Philippine Health Insurance orp. (PhilHealth) is coming up with a benefit pac age for M R - oV, ee uy said.