2nd swab test results on Pinay nurse with MERS-CoV expected Thursday

The results of the second swab test on the Filipina nurse who tested positive for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Saudi Arabia and who arrived in the country last week is expected to be released Thursday, a TV report said.
 
A report on GMA News' Unang Balita said the second swab test, conducted at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) in Davao City where the nurse is confined, will confirm if she has MERS-CoV.
 
The 37-year-old nurse, who hails from South Cotabato, arrived in the Philippines last Friday from Saudi Arabia, where she works in the intensive care unit of a provincial hospital there. 
 
She returned to the country together with a fellow Filipina nurse via a Saudi Airlines flight.
 
SInce she was taking care of a patient with MERS-CoV, the nurse underwent checkup and throat swabbing in Saudi Arabia after experiencing symptoms of the virus such as fever, cough, and cold, the Unang Balita report said.
 
She returned to the Philippines before she got the results and was informed on Sunday that she tested positive for MERS-CoV.
 
Even without medicine for the virus, health experts assured the public that there is nothing to worry about.
 
"We're still confirming kung positibo ba siya," said Dr. Ricardo Audan, chief of clinics at the SPMC. "Pero kung positive, there's nothing to worry about because the patient is confined in our isolation room. Binibigyan namin ng gamot based sa kaniyang symptoms."
 
Audan added that a patient with MERS-CoV can only infect others through close contact. 
 
Meanwhile, the second nurse had herself checked at the Lung Center of the Philippines along with her family after learning the medical results of her co-worker, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said Wednesday. 
 
It was learned that the nurse who tested positive for MERS-CoV stayed at the second nurse's home in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, until Tuesday, after which she flew to General Santos City on a Cebu Pacific flight J997.
 
Both the second nurse and her family tested negative for MERS-CoV, Ona said.
 
"So as of today, despite the fact na dalawa ang nakalusot, as of now we can still claim na MERS-CoV free [ang Pilipinas]," he added.
 
As a precaution, all 249 passengers of Saudi Airlines and 143 passengers of Cebu Pacific who had contact with the nurses were informed and advised to undergo examinations. — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/RSJ, GMA News

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