Pinoy among 15 new MERS cases in Saudi

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino is among the 15 confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) registered last week in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Ministry of Health announced yesterday.

“The announcement comes as part of the transparency policy adapted by the ministry to keep the public informed on the latest developments of the disease,” the Saudi Ministry of Health said in its 11th weekly update on MERS-CoV since the start of 2015.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed on March 6 that three Filipino female healthcare personnel in Saudi Arabia have also contracted MERS-CoV. The three healthcare personnel are working at different hospitals where they were exposed to MERS-CoV patients in the course of their work.

Other MERS-CoV patients registered last week are 10 Saudi nationals, two Sudanese, one Yemeni and one Egyptian. Their ages ranged from 17 to 72.

According to the Saudi Ministry of Health, eight of the patients acquired MERS-CoV from the public, five at healthcare facilities with two cases involving healthcare workers, one from home infection, while one is still under investigation.

The health ministry’s emergency preparedness and response unit, the Command and Control Center (CCC), commissioned 2,036 samples from people suspected of having been infected with MERS-CoV as part of its virus-fighting efforts.

Rapid intervention teams conducted 48 site investigation visits during the week, and its preventive medicine surveillance teams visited 15 homes in which 101 MERS-CoV suspected cases were listed and put under medical surveillance to the end of the virus incubation period.

The CCC is closely monitoring the compliance of all healthcare facilities with the infection control guidelines and protocols set by the health ministry as a measure of prevention. The CCC also coordinates with other relevant government authorities and international health organizations to gather and understand the latest developments regarding MERS-CoV.