DOH-7 gets Ebola funds

CEBU, Philippines – To set measures meant to combat the entry of Ebola in the country, the national government has given the Department of Health in Central Visayas funds amounting to P3 million.

Dr. Dino Caing, Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit chief of DOH-7, said this is under the agency’s budget for emerging diseases.

This, as the region continues to be on Code White or is preparing and anticipating the onset of a health emergency, as earlier declared by DOH-7 Director Jaime Bernadas.

Another P1 million was added by Bernadas specifically for the created Task Force Ebola Virus Disease, Caing said.

On top of this, the national government is setting aside an emergency fund of P500 million which will be used in case an outbreak hits the country.

Personal protective equipment to be used by attending medical personnel have also been purchased by authorities.

Some 50 PPEs have been purchased and are ready for use while 50 more have been ordered. Another 150 hygiene kits have been in place.

A PPE set costs around P22,000.

Primary referral hospital Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center has sent its core group composed of infectious disease doctors, internal medicine doctor, pediatric doctor, infection control nurses and medical technician to Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila to undergo training on protocol in addressing and handling suspected and confirmed cases of Ebola.

Consequently, a regional summit on handling Ebola will be done on first week of November with DOH extending important information to private hospital officials and personnel.

“All suspected cases referred to VSMMC must pass through RESU or Bureau of Quarantine. We have given health institutions, especially the private the DOH guidelines, on what to do which is to inform RESU or Quarantine official for suspected cases in their hospitals or clinics,” Caing said.

“So far, the private hospitals are cooperative as they also prevent the stigma of having an Ebola patient in their hospital which might drive off other patients in fear of contracting the disease,” the RESU chief added.

VSMMC chief of clinics Dr. Antonio Paradela added that Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr., chief of hospital, is set to meet with executives of private hospitals on November 5.

“Private hospitals must know the proper procedure to follow. For example, we have designated a driver and a vehicle to be used in transporting the Ebola suspect. It is very important to not break the protocol,” Paradela said.

VSMMC has six negative pressure rooms where patients suspected to be suffering from emerging and re-emerging diseases are to be brought, observed and tested.

Caing added that a separate session with local government unit and local health officials down to the barangay emergency response teams will be done soon.

Dr. Philbert Muga of the Bureau of Quarantine stressed that thermal screening at the airport has been doubled, which means passengers would be made to pass through thermal scanners twice to make sure they do not display early signs of Ebola which is fever of not lower than or equal to 38 degrees Celsius.

A checklist of health and travel details, as well as contact details, must also be filled by passengers arriving at Mactan-Cebu International Airport from abroad.

The aggressive efforts of the government, Caing stressed, do not however mean there is great danger in the corner as the country and the region remain to be Ebola-free.

EVD, as defined by DOH, is a severe, infectious, often fatal disease in humans and primates caused by Ebola virus.

This is transmitted through close contact with human fluids and corpse of a dead Ebola victim.

Its symptoms include sudden onset of fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pain, and sore throat followed by rash, red eyes, hiccups, bleeding from body openings, and later vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, impaired kidney and liver function.

The RESU has reminded the public to ask questions or report any suspected member of their community, especially those with travel history to West Africa, through the hotline of DOH (032) 418-7010. —/JMD) (FREEMAN)