UPDATE ON MIDDLE EAST RESPIRATORY SYNDROME CORONAVIRUS (MERS-COV) Press Release /April 14, 2014 The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is a highly fatal respiratory illness presenting as an influenza-like illness characterized by fever, cough and often with diarrhea. There is limited data on its transmission but possibly through direct contact of household members and health care providers exposed to confirmed cases. Source and transmission data remain limited though. The diagnosis is made through serology and/or DNA tests and the treatment remains supportive. As of April 13, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a total of 228 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infections with 92 deaths from 10 countries, mostly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Last April 11, 2014, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Interior reported the death of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) allegedly due to MERS-CoV. While the WHO Country Office in Manila has yet to confirm this case, the Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Grace Relucio- Princesa has received confirmation from National Health Authorities in UAE. The Bureau of Quarantine is already alerted just in case the remains are brought back to the Philippines. If this case will be confirmed, this will be the second time a Filipino died of MERS-CoV in the Middle East. Last August 29, 2013, a 41 year-old Filipina nurse also died of severe MERSCOV infection in an undisclosed hospital facility in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her embalmed body was repatriated and brought home in a hermetically-sealed coffin for final interment last November 2013 without the need for special precautions. The Department of Health (DOH) is also verifying the report that five other Filipino workers in Al Ain City in UAE were quarantined after routine contact tracing. The latest update reported to the DOH through the National Epidemiology Center is that the husband of one of the quarantined OFWs in Al Ain had visited his wife and returned to the Philippines last April 6. The husband is in home quarantine and so far has no signs or symptoms of disease. The DOH advises any person who presents with severe respiratory illness with history of travel to the Middle East should be tested for the MERS-CoV. These cases are reported to the NEC and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) confirms the diagnosis. Also, the Bureau of Quarantine continues to screen travelers at the points of entry. There are no travel restrictions to and from Middle East countries. Filipino travelers to the Middle East are advised to avoid contact with persons with influenza-like illness and should observe frequent hand washing. They must report to any hospital if they become ill within 14 days from arrival and delay visits to crowded places until symptoms disappear. Hospitals were instructed to report to DOH any patient who maybe suspected to have MERS-CoV infection. -from DOH Website
Posted on: Tue, 15 Apr 2014 12:02:34 +0000