‘JP’ cleared of SARS, discharged today

TACLOBAN CITY — A Filipina worker from Hong Kong suspected to be the country’s fourth victim of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) has tested negative for the killer virus, and she is now without fever and has stopped coughing.

Dr. Milagros Bacus, health department director for Eastern Visayas, said the 47-year-old patient, known to the public only by her initials "JP," will be released from the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) "anytime" today.

"The patient has recovered, her condition is stable without fever or cough," she said.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said JP was re-examined by government doctors and new X-ray tests showed she did not have pneumonia as a private doctor earlier concluded.

"Although we said that JP was a SARS case last Friday, the review of her X-ray showed that it was not pneumonia," he said.

"She is also responding very well to antibiotics."

President Arroyo also declared yesterday that JP was a "non-SARS case" after the SARS management committee headed by Dayrit had delisted her.

"It was not pneumonia that was her sickness," the President said. "After checking her X-ray, we now make this correction. We only have three cases of SARS in the country. Since JP has not been sick with SARS, no quarantine has been imposed on Eastern Samar."

Mrs. Arroyo made the declaration during the graduation rites of baranagay tanods who had completed a course on crime-fighting and anti-terrorism at the Public Safety College in Makati City.

Mrs. Arroyo also called on barangay tanods in Metro Manila to be the "frontliners" in the government’s anti-SARS campaign.

"Help me explain also that a barangay placed under quarantine does not mean all the residents have SARS," she said.

Dayrit said JP suffered some other infection, probably flu, but as of yesterday, she no longer had a fever.

"We are now delisting her from SARS (cases)," he said.

Dayrit said the government earlier relied on the findings of a private clinic JP went to after returning to her home province of Eastern Samar.

The doctor who examined her said pneumonia was detected from X-rays and concluded she may have been infected with SARS in Hong Kong.

Bacus said she and Dr. Adelaida Asperin, chief of the EVMC, would no longer wait for the results of the laboratory tests on JP’s blood and tissue samples from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

"Her body temperature as of yesterday reads 36.8 degrees which is within the normal level," she said.

Bacus said a health team would be sent to JP’s hometown in Maydolong, Eastern Samar to "prepare their minds" for her homecoming in Barangay Maybocog.

"We’ll be having a community assembly, aside from the inter-agency meeting for them to be educated on what SARS is all about," she said.

JP’s husband, who is in isolation with her at the hospital, remains in "normal condition," although he has been suffering from hypertension and diabetes, she added.

The delisting of JP has reduced to three the number of SARS cases in the Philippines — a German who had recovered from the illness, Filipino nurse’s aide Adela Catalon from Canada and her 74-year-old father, Mauricio, who have both died.

Dr. Jean Marc Olive, World Health Organization country manager, said delisting is "normally done" by countries which have been affected by SARS.

JP arrived from Hong Kong on April 10, developed body malaise and back pains six days later and started running a fever on April 20.

Meanwhile, Victor Domingo, presidential assistant for Eastern Visayas, said yesterday Dayrit has "intentionally sabotaged" the region’s economy when he announced that JP was inflicted with SARS even without RITM confirmation. – With Miriam Garcia Desacada, Marichu Villanueva, Sheila Crisostomo