So far the Department of Health (DOH) has managed to assuage public concerns over reports about the possible entry of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoVS) in the country through passengers suspected of being infected with the virus.
It’s been a low-key but systematic response so far.
It helped that it was a quiet Good Friday when a pharmacy near the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City ran out of stocks of face masks being bought by every visitor.
Since it was a holiday, with few people on the street, the unusual sight went largely unnoticed. At the hospital, a handful of passengers underwent examination for MERS, including their families and those they were in contact with.
Cebu City Hall had time to form a crisis management team with the DOH to provide information and media updates about the precautions being taken to check the health of passengers who may have been exposed to the virus, which has no known cure.
It’s better to know what the new virus, first reported in 2012 in Saudi Arabia, is about.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States, both MERS-CoVS and SARS are similar to the coronaviruses found in bats and camels.
The virus transmission from animals to humans remains one of the questions baffling medical experts.
Of the 238 cases of MERS, there were 92 deaths including two Filipino health workers in the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi according to the World Health Organization.
The male nurse who initially tested positive for MERS was later found to be virus-free and allowed to leave the country. Four passengers from Pinamungahan town in Cebu also tested negative and were allowed to go home.
The handful of persons who remain quarantined in a special room in the VSMMC are treated with confidentiality as they should be.
What we have to know more about is what citizens can expect if others do test positive, what it means for their families and people they come in contact with. Being prepared will give the public more peace of mind.
For now the disease is confined to people with clear links to the Mideast. “We’re clearly at a very significant stay-tuned moment,” said a US infectious disease expert.
Since symptoms look like the common cold – fever, breathing problems, coughing – basic precautions apply. Wash hands frequently. Keep your immune system strong with good habits of adequate sleep and sound nutrition.
Cebu and the Philippines in general was fortunate to escape the brunt of the global SARS outbreak in 2003. With a good preparation, surveillance and common sense, there’s no reason why the homeland shouldn’t remain safe from this new virus called MERS.