MANILA, Philippines - Doctors fear sending Filipino health workers to West Africa could open the country to the Ebola virus.
In separate interviews, Philippine Medical Association (PMA) president Minerva Calimag and Philippine College of Physicians (PCP)’s Anthony Leachon said it would not be a wise decision and would expose the 100 million Filipinos to the disease.
Calimag said the Philippines is not ready to send health workers to Liberia, Guinea or Sierra Leone.
“We will only put our health workers at risk,” she said. “Of course they will come back so we will just open our borders to possible contamination.”
Calimag said the first dictum in an outbreak of infectious diseases is isolation.
Subjecting health workers to a hasty training is not enough to enable them to protect themselves against the virus, she added.
Leachon said the government’s priority is to secure the country’s ports and to protect our people. “The infection should be stopped at the source and the source here is West Africa,” he said. “We may only add up to the problem if we send Filipinos there.”
Leachon said the virus could infect the Philippines since it was able to reach developed countries like the US, Germany and Spain.
“Charity begins at home,” he said. “We have to strengthen our weak health system and to prepare our health personnel to handle Ebola cases. Christmas is coming so Filipinos from all over the world are coming home, so we have to be ready.”
Leachon said the Ebola outbreak cannot be compared to Super Typhoon Yolanda.
“I don’t think you can compare Yolanda with Ebola,” he said.
“In Yolanda, they came after the typhoon, when it was no longer there. But in Ebola, you are dealing with something that is ongoing and new.”
So far, only Cuba had responded to international calls to send health workers to help contain the outbreak.
Records at the World Health Organization (WHO) showed 8,399 Ebola cases: Liberia with 4,076, Guinea 1,350 and Sierra Leone 2,950 with 4,024 deaths, as of Oct. 7.
No takers
Filipinos in Ebola-infected West Africa have not come forward to ask to be repatriated, although the government would pay for their airfare.
Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has not received any request from Filipino workers in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
“The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) will pay for the plane ticket of their members, while the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will handle the airfare of non-OWWA members and those who entered West Africa without the assistance of a recruitment agency,” she said.
Baldoz said under the law, recruitment agencies must shoulder the repatriation cost of workers that they have deployed and the DFA those who did not pass through any recruitment agency.
Most Filipino workers in West Africa were not deployed through a recruitment agency, she added.
Baldoz said she had directed the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to account for workers deployed through licensed agencies.
POEA will discuss with foreign employers the pre-termination of contracts of Filipino workers when the government orders their repatriation from Ebola-affected countries, she added.
Patience
Vice President Jejomar Binay asked yesterday Filipinos returning from Ebola-stricken countries to be patient when they undergo quarantine to prevent the virus from entering the country.
“This is for the protection of their own families,” he said.
The presidential adviser on OFW concerns said quarantine is necessary to ensure that Ebola does not reach the Philippines.
“We have to err on the side of caution,” he said.
Binay said the Philippines, one of the world’s leading labor-exporting countries, is more vulnerable to a massive outbreak of the Ebola virus.
Tight screening and surveillance of all ports of entry is important to ensure that the virus does not enter the country, he added.
Binay said the government should roll out an intensive information campaign on the Ebola virus.
“We also need to identify the hospitals with capability to stabilize and treat Ebola patients suspected of being infected,” he said. “Isolation facilities, trained personnel and required equipment must be available at these hospitals.”
Ready for Ebola
The Bureau of Human Quarantine and the Airport Emergency Services at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are ready for incoming passengers suspected of being infected with the Ebola virus.
NAIA doctor-on-duty Gerraldyn Yangson told The STAR they have the proper suit to attend to an Ebola patient.
The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is comprised of rubberize coat, biological mask, gloves and rubber boots, she added.
Yangson said they have four sets of PPE that are all disposable.
They have a proper place for disposal, she added.
Yangson said no liquid like saliva and sweat must contaminate the inside of the suit to avoid infecting the attending nurse or physician.
“We have three teams composed of eight nurses and a doctor and two standby ambulances in case of emergencies like transporting patient to RITM or to San Lazaro hospital in Manila,” she said.
Robert Simon, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Airport Emergency Services Department head, said they have some 200 sets of PPE for patients infected with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona virus (MERS-Cov).
They have ten inflatable medical tents that can accommodate more than one patient at a time, he added.
Simon said the tent will be in place at a remote parking area at NAIA terminal 1 in case pilots call in an emergency situation involving a passenger/s suspected of carrying the Ebola virus.– Sheila Crisostomo, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Rodel Clapano, Rudy Santos