MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday reported that the Philippines is still Ebola-free but strictly urged any returning Filipino manifesting fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains and sore throat to seek clearance with local health authorities from the country of employment before being allowed to embark in order to prevent the entry of Ebola virus in the country.
Secretary of Health Enrique Ona stressed that health authorities in the country is not letting its guard down on the possible entry of any emerging infectious disease (EID). He added that an interagency meeting was organized by the Office of Migrant Workers of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on June 30, 2014, to discuss the status of the overseas Filipinos in the three countries that are currently experiencing outbreaks of Ebola virus infection: Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
Presently, in the countries where there are outbreaks of Ebola, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are coordinating with their recruitment agencies in assessing their risk from the disease. As the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) raised Alert Level Status 2 among the three affected countries, the deployment of OFWs with new contracts has been suspended. Proper coordination of Philippine labor officials (DOLE, POEA, OWWA) is now being undertaken with the DFA and the Bureau of Immigration (BI), for possible repatriation.
Once repatriated, the DOH through the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) will determine the status of returning Filipinos upon arrival and refer symptomatic cases to the appropriate health facilities for clinical care. Asymptomatic individuals will be closely monitored daily by the Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) of the DOH.
So far, an initial 20 OFWs from Sierra Leone were repatriated by their recruitment agency back to the Philippines. The agency had informed OWWA of the dates of their arrival (from June 26 to July 15, 2014) and OWWA had subsequently informed the BOQ.
Close daily monitoring by DOH-HEMS of symptoms continues to take place among these OFWs. Regional health officials are on standby to facilitate the conduct and admission of possible suspected cases to the nearest DOH hospitals or medical centers.
Ebola is a severe, infectious, often fatal disease in humans and primates (monkeys, gorillas, and chimpanzees) caused by infection from the Ebola virus.
Ebola can be transmitted through close contact with: blood secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals, body fluids and stools of an infected person, through contaminated needles and soiled linen used by infected patients, or direct contact with the body a deceased person.
Signs and symptoms of infection with Ebola virus include: fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains, and sore throat; this is followed by vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, rash, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding; sometimes, rash, red eyes, hiccups, and bleeding from body openings may be seen in some patients.
The DOH advised suspected cases to be taken immediately to the nearest health facility for medical attention. Severe cases require intensive supportive care. At present, there is no specific treatment or vaccine yet available.
