More thermal scanners to prevent Ebola entry

CEBU, Philippines - Two new thermal scanners are coming to augment the government’s aggressive efforts in preventing the entry of the dreaded Ebola virus in the country.

Doctor Terrence Bermejo of the Bureau of Quarantine-7 yesterday said during the weekly press briefing of Task Force Ebola Virus Disease that the additional scanners are arriving within the next two weeks.

“We expect two more thermal scanners in the next two weeks. We will use this especially with MCIA (Mactan Cebu International Airport) expansion,” Bermejo said.

Bermejo said MCIA has two existing thermal scanners which were bought at P1 million each during the time of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome threat.

Passengers with travel history or interaction with those coming from West Africa where Ebola is spreading are automatically required to undergo quarantine for 21 days, the incubation of the EVD despite not displaying symptoms like that of upper respiratory infection.

“Those passengers coming to the country from West Africa: Guinea, Sierra Leon, and Liberia. Although Nigeria, Spain and United States have also reported cases already. All passengers arriving from these countries are considered persons under investigation. They have to be quarantined for 21 days at the designated referral hospital for those symptomatic and self-quarantine if asymptomatic,” explained DOH-7 Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit chief, Dr. Dino Caing.

Being the regional designated referral hospital, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center has six negative pressure isolation rooms.

“As what we had discussed, the VSMMC is designated hospital for this Ebola emerging disease. The protocol or the flow of patients is that, as referral center, we only receive patients’ referral from RESU and Bureau of Quarantine. From then, we have already an existing flow as what we have done in the past like sa MERS-CoV, SARS, H1N1. So this is the same flow that we will apply but this time we already have six rooms negative pressure. And we have trained med techs, nurses, doctors. But with the problem now, the plan of the hospital is to increase the number of healthcare providers as to the training,” Dr. Regina Melodia explained.

Melodia, who attended the briefing on behalf of VSMMC chief of hospitals Dr. Gerardo Aquino, added that a core group will be sent to train next week at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.

Still next week, VSMMC will meet with private hospital officials to emphasize that suspected passengers must be sent first to VSMMC and that private hospital quarantine will no longer be tolerated.

“Government hospitals are equipped in terms of addressing emerging diseases. The problem with private hospitals is they are not trained and equipped on the proper protocol in handling these kinds of patients. We have patients especially those who have money, they will insist on staying at the private hospitals. That is why we have a conference to let them know that as of now, sa Vicente Sotto (MMC) ra gyud dad-on. Kay that’s what happened in Dallas, Texas. They admitted the suspected passenger to a private hospital which was not equipped. Kay sa America I think they only have four hospitals nga designated to be referral centers with only 16 bed capacity. At least sa RITM they have 12 beds and another ward for serious cases. We are prepared in case naay outbreak,” Caing stressed.

The preventive aspect that the government sees is the thorough screening and clearance of these passengers from the port of origin authorities, Caing continued.

This was also raised earlier by DOH-7 director Jaime Bernadas saying the central office is closely coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs which relayed this concern to identified nations.

In order to address this international health concern, the BOQ has hired additional medical professionals to augment the 24/7 screening at the MCIA.

“We hired five to six contractual nurses and two more nurse. We are also hiring three more medical officers. We do not normally have many people and our hiring depends on the alert status,” Bermejo said.— (FREEMAN)