RITM doctor remains under quarantine

The female doctor of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) earlier suspected of showing symptoms of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) will remain in quarantine despite findings she only has urinary tract infection (UTI), the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

DOH National Epidemiology Center chief Dr. Consortia Quizon said the doctor will have to continue her 14-day quarantine to confirm she is not SARS-infected.

"She (the female doctor) has UTI but she still has to remain under quarantine," Quizon said.

The UTI findings has weakened the possibility that the doctor was infected with SARS.

Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit earlier explained all medical and non-medical staff of RITM who gets sick will be automatically declared a SARS suspect and placed under quarantine until the true cause of illness is determined.

The doctor and a male nurse, both in their early 30s, had attended to Mauricio Catalon, the country’s second SARS death and the first reported local transmission.

Last Wednesday, the female doctor developed a fever, a primary symptom of SARS, but showed no signs of pneumonia or shortness of breath.

Health officials added the male nurse had a low grade fever but "for the past 48 hours, he had no fever."

Dr. Remigio Olveda of the RITM confirmed that "one of the two (RITM) medical personnel" had UTI but refused to identify which one.

Quizon added that the doctor and the nurse no longer had fever and the same with "RT," the technician who developed fever after taking the chest x-ray of Catalon’s daughter, Adela, at the San Lazaro Hospital (SLH).

The younger Catalon, a nursing aide from Toronto, became the first confirmed SARS fatality in the country while his 74-year old father was the first recorded local transmission.

Adela died April 14 while her father Mauricio, succumbed to the disease eight days later while in quarantine at the RITM.

Adela’s x-ray technician, on the other hand, has been placed in 14-day isolation at the SLH since April 23 after having a fever.

It was gathered that RT wore only a mask and robe when she took the x-ray of Adela. She was not wearing any goggles as required, thus exposing her eyes to the SARS virus.

Quizon said those who were exposed to suspected SARS carriers and traveled from SARS-stricken countries to submit themselves to voluntary confinement.

Media hype spreading SARS hysteria

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) spokesman Victoriano Lecaros said erroneous and exaggerated local media reports on SARS had been doing harm to the country’s image in the international community.

"We are on guard against every possible negative implication of the SARS outbreak, Those kinds of action, like Libya’s ban on OFWs, are what we fear most because they concern our workers.

Another DFA official, who asked not to be named, also took exceptions to reports that Saudi Arabia had banned the return of Filipino workers on fears of getting infected by SARS,

The official said there was no such report emanating from the Philippine embassy in Saudi Arabia.

He pointed out that the Saudi government has not even issued a travel ban to and from China, where the virus reportedly originated, much less on the Philippines, which has the lowest number of reported SARS cases.

Lecaros, for his part, pointed out that it would be difficult for the Saudis to impose travel restrictions against 1.5 million Filipinos working there.

But OFWs are still banned to travel to Libya, despite earlier assurances by Tripoli to lift the ban, Lecaros said.

In a report to the home office, the Philippine mission in Tripoli said embassy officials met Monday with Libyan Foreign Ministry Director General for Asia and Australia Galousie Mohammad to convey Manila’s concern on the travel ban.

Galousie assured Philippine officials that he would coordinate with the General Office for Consular Affairs, the office mandated to handle all SARS-related issues, "to come up with solutions to address the problems presented by the Philippines."

Manila filed diplomatic protest against Libya after 132 Filipino workers, hired by a car manufacturer Daewoo, were not allowed to board their plane due to the advisory posted by Tripoli on fears of SARS.

Twelve teachers of a school in Tripoli, on vacation here, were also banned from flying back.

Galousie reportedly mentioned to embassy officials that Filipinos "may be allowed to enter Libya in due time."

Too much hype

A group of medical professionals claimed there was too much publicity over SARS that the government neglected its concern to more debilitating diseases.

"What’s the big deal about SARS? It’s a viral illness and a viral illness is self-limiting. It can be cured naturally ... What the government must do is focus on ailments that have been haunting the Filipino people. These are malaria, tuberculosis, pneumonia and dengue," said Reynaldo Lesaca, chairman of Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD).

Lesaca also noted government hospitals lack enough robes, masks and other safety gadgets to protect health personnel against SARS cases.

Joseph Carabeo, HEAD secretary general, said the government continues to earmark insufficient budget for health despite the pressing demand for quality and affordable health services.

He said the country’s "health infrastructure from national to regional and local are far from ideal and severely incapacitated to respond to existing health problems."

Militant groups also chided the government for its alleged inaction over the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) amid the worldwide SARS scare.

In a forum, Migrante International claimed Philippine embassies failed to protect OFWs from discrimination from host countries.

"Amidst the current global economic crisis, migrants are hard hit by various economic attacks. Now, SARS has worsened their situation because it’s being used to justify further violations against their rights, said Migrante International secretary general Maita Santiago,

The group claimed there were cases where OFWs, particularly domestic helpers, were abused of their rights using SARS as an excuse.

Another group, Umangat, claimed several Filipino maids in Rome were terminated by their employers on fears they might be contaminated or they were simply placed under quarantine without pay.

There were also similar cases in Hong Kong where a big bulk of domestic helpers in the former British colony are Filipinos. – With Katherine Adraneda, Aurea Calica