30 co-passengers negative for MERS

MANILA, Philippines - Thirty people who had been on the same flight as a nurse found to be infected with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) tested negative for the virus, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

In an ambush interview, DOH Secretary Janette Garin said none of the passengers showed symptoms of MERS-CoV infection.

“We reiterate our calls to all of the passengers of Saudia Flight 860 that arrived (in the country) on Feb. 1 to report to DOH offices and hospitals. We will send our people to coordinate with you,” she said.

The 32-year-old nurse who worked in Saudi Arabia is the country’s first confirmed case of MERS-CoV. She is now undergoing quarantine at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. 

She had 220 co-passengers, excluding her husband, who came home with her on the same flight. The husband had developed symptoms but tested negative for the virus.

The DOH has been able to track down 92 passengers so far.

Aside from the husband, the DOH had also located 55 people who came in close contact with the nurse, including her mother-in-law and househelp.

All of the 56 contacts tested negative for MERS-CoV but 11 of them, including the husband, developed symptoms like cough and fever.  

According to Garin, the nurse is now in stable condition but the “reactions in the community” are hurting her.

“She is undergoing a very difficult time now emotionally. There are many reactions in the community and it is not helping her,” she claimed, referring to the panic that has gripped the residents in her neighborhood in Pacita in San Pedro, Laguna.

Garin assured the public that MERS-CoV is not an airborne disease. The virus can be transmitted through respiratory droplets discharged when sneezing and coughing.

She added the virus could not be easily spread because it requires close contact among individuals.

Garin denied reports that a domestic helper who arrived from Jordan last Feb. 6 is the country’s second MERS-CoV case.

“She does not fit the category of MERS-CoV. Although she came from Jordan, which is one of the countries reporting MERS-CoV, her X-ray is clear and she does not have a cough,” she said.

Garin added the worker tested negative for the virus but she was brought to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center only because she was “anxious” that she could be infected.