DOH: Second MERS-CoV case in PH from Middle East foreigner

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MANILA – According to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Garin, the Philippines now has its second case of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) from a foreigner from the Middle East.

The 36-year-old foreigner, whose identity has not been disclosed, has started showing the symptoms of MERS-CoV on July 2. He has then been referred to the DOH on July 4 and has been tested on the same day.

After testing positive for MERS-CoV, the male foreigner has been confined at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa City. He is now being treated for the deadly disease and is said to be recovering.

“Kasalukuyan siyang binabantayan, stable and very cooperative. Nakitang mababa ang viral load ng pasyente. Ibig sabihin, hindi ganoon kadami ang MERS coronavirus sa katawan niya at posibleng gumagaling na ito,” Garin said in a press conference.

(He’s currently under observation; [he’s] stable and very cooperative. It was seen that the patient’s viral load was low. Meaning, the [presence of the] MERS coronavirus in his body was not a lot and it’s possible for him to recover [soon.])

Aside from the patient, eight other persons have also been placed in isolation for having close contact with him.

The DOH, for its part, assures the public that there has been no recorded transmission of MERS-CoV.

“We are reminding the public that there is no documented community transmission of MERS. Transmission usually happens inside the hospital and with the close contacts of the patient,” Garin explained.

The DOH is now tracing the 200 other passengers who were on the same plane with the MERS-CoV carrier who traveled from Saudi Arabia and passed by Dubai in the Middle East before entering the Philippines.

The DOH then reiterates the need to immediately report to the nearest hospital should any overseas Filipino worker (OFW) or foreigner recently from abroad show symptoms of the deadly disease such as fever and cough.

As of posting, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 1338 cases and 476 deaths of MERS-CoV.