DOH eyes teams in Middle East to monitor Pinoy MERS patients

The Department of Health may send medical teams to the Middle East to monitor the condition of Filipinos infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a report on “24 Oras” said Tuesday.

This was following reports that three Filipino nurses were among the 14 new cases  of MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia.

In Manila, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already ordered labor attachés in the Middle East to have overseas Filipino workers fill up basic information sheets to help in tracking possible cases.



According to the report, one of the nurses who tested positive for MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia is at the intensive care unit of a hospital while the two others are in an isolation ward.

Meanwhile, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration head Carmelita Dimzon said they are in constant communication with the families of the affected nurses.

“Ang mga pamilya nitong mga OFW na ito ay nakikipag-ugnayan din sa OWWA at sa pamamagitan natin nakakakuha sila ng information,” Dimzon said.

She also gave some tips to avoid contracting the disease. “Huwag gaanong mag handshake, 'yung hugging, use face mask, regularly wash your hands and use hand sanitizers.”

There are currently 339 confirmed cases of MERS-CoV, including 26 new ones, in Saudi Arabia. Of this number, 102 had died.

MERS is a novel virus often referred to as the Middle East’s own version of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and even diarrhea.

Human cases of MERS have also been reported in other Middle Eastern countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News