Fil-Am tagged probable SARS case in Seoul

SEOUL — An American citizen from the Philippines has been admitted to an isolated ward in South Korea after airport quarantine officers diagnosed him as a "probable" SARS patient, health officials said yesterday.

The 80-year-old ethnic Filipino showed classic symptoms of the killer Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome when he arrived at Incheon Airport Sunday after a two-week trip to the Philippines, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.

The unidentified man becomes South Korea’s second probable case of SARS. The country reported its first SARS case last April 29, a man who had traveled to China. He was sent home from hospital last Saturday.

In Malaysia, students from SARS-hit countries and workers from the Philippines wil be placed under a 10-day quarantine upon thei entry to the country, Malaysian health officials said after the Fil-American was confined in Seoul.

"He is under intensive care after experts classified him as a probable SARS case," an NIH official told Agence France Presse.

The man, who was in transit to San Francisco, California, had a fever of 39.9 degrees Celsius and severe respiratory problems, he said.

More tests will be needed to determine whether the patient has contracted the SARS virus, he said.

In Manila, sources at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) identified the man as Domingo Inaldo, originally from Sinamar Norte in Isabela province. His address in California was listed as No. 27827 Ladig Court, Hayward.

NAIA sources were baffled how Inaldo was able to board his flight with a fever since he went through a fever-sensing machine that was installed only last Saturday at the airport’s departure area.

The NIH has isolated 11 crew members of Asiana Flight 372 on which the man traveled here from the Philippines, as well as five passengers who sat near him. Of the 243 passengers on the plane, 132 traveled on to San Francisco at 11:30 p.m. Sunday.

For weeks, South Korea has been preparing for an outbreak of SARS, which has gripped other parts of Asia, especially China and its territory, Hong Kong.

The government has said it will forcibly quarantine people suspected of having SARS.

No ban on Pinoys to South Korea

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported yesterday that Filipinos are not banned from traveling to South Korea nor are South Koreans restricted from traveling to the Philippines.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Blas Ople made the assurance after meeting with South Korean Ambassador Son Song-ha at the foreign office yesterday.

"Ambassador Son assured me that there is no travel ban against Filipinos. He also clarified that the travel information concerning the Philippines does not call on Koreans to avoid the Philippines but merely asks Koreans to take the necessary precautions while traveling to the Philippines," Ople said.

During the meeting, Ople informed the Korean envoy that the World Health Organization (WHO) has revised its SARS update and made clear that there was no travel ban to the Philippines.

In its advisory, the WHO said it does not recommend travel restrictions to the Philippines because SARS cases in the Philippines have been well-contained and that there appears to be no increased transmission risks in the country.

"This latest update from the WHO is based on facts and a better assessment of the true situation in the Philippines. It is our hope that countries will consider this WHO update before considering issuing travel advisories on the Philippines," Ople said.

Meantime, Ople summoned the ambassadors of Libya and Kuwait to the DFA to convey the Philippine government’s concern on the travel ban issued against Filipinos, particularly overseas Filipino workers, due to SARS.

Travel bans against Filipinos were also imposed by Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon after the WHO included the Philippines on Friday as a country with "medium" risk of SARS transmission. – AFP, Pia Lee-Brago