An epidemic of fear and… rumors

Rumors of patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome flew thick and fast over the weekend. Fanned further by text messages reporting more. Funny, but some of the texts emanated from Manila, indicating the possibility that a group must be fanning destabilization. Or simply maliciously bent to sow panic.

What aggravated the phenomenon was that some local mediamen, especially broadcasters succumbed to the text messages in a race to pull a scoop. And there were a lot of misinformation spread around, provoking a stampede for surgical masks which shot up in price three times more than the normal.

Worse, Bacolod Mayor Joy Valdez handed out a suggestion that an OFW worker who had developed SARS symptoms abroad is arriving and advising Sagay City Mayor Fortunato Javelosa to have her quarantined upon arrival. It turned out that the particular OFW was held back from travel by Singapore authorities.

That, to a certain extent, described the situation here provoked by the report that an OFW, who had served for sometime in Hong Kong, voluntarily quarantined herself and her family despite the obvious lack of symptoms upon arrival.

The automatic reaction by residents of Barangay Purisima in Manapla was to treat her and the family as lepers. That enraged the OFW, although the Manapla Mayor went out of his way to praise her for her gallantry in submitting to quarantine voluntarily sans even signs of SARS.

The scare and panic in a way was good. It showed how unprepared the government is in handling a possible crisis. First, there are only two SARS isolation wards in the province – that of the provincial hospital in Silay City and the other, the one at the Regional Western Visayas Hospital (CLMMRH).

Private medical hospitals immediately issued clear cut advisories. They are not equipped to handle SARS patients. Thus, the only possible move for the public is to bring immediately suspected SARS patients to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Hospital or the Jose Locsin provincial hospital in Silay City.

Although Dr. Guillermo Vega, the regional hospital director, had been conducting lectures about SARS and the need for local preparedness, a snafu developed with the first patient rushed to the regional institution from Murcia.

Actually, he was not suspected case. It was only a precautionary measure by Mayor Esteban Coscolluela. Actually, he was later discharged after an x-ray examination showed that he was suffering from Tuberculosis and did not display symptoms of fever and other indications of possible SARS. The only thing going was that he had recently arrived from Taiwan where his employer had sent him home after showing signs of TB.

That’s not the point. Based on my interview of hospital personnel, the ambulance driver simply deposited the patient in front of the emergency room. He did not notify even the security guard of the nature of his patient. He just drove off sans any explanation.

Second, from the emergency room, the patient was rushed to the isolation ward via the OB-Gyn ward. This immediately precipitated an evacuation by the patients confined there. It decongested the ward.

It was only later that the ward was vacated and transferred elsewhere in the building. That indicated that there had been no prior study as to the approach to the isolation ward.

Later, I held talks with a group of physicians and members of the Auxiliary to the Carlson Medical Society. I also monitored the meeting between Dr. Joan Carrada and local officials, including Rep. Monico Puentevella.

First things first. Like in Iloilo’s Western Visayas Medical Center, the P7-million crisis budget has yet to be released. As I said, that was the same issue that had been raised in Iloilo’s Medical Center.

In short, hospitals outside of Metro Manila, based on the two, are sadly underequipped and underfunded to cope with a crisis situation should it arise.

And one must contend with a lot of myths about SARS. Including the masks that are to be used. Neither are the medical personnel assigned to the SARS watch furnished the necessary protective clothing and disposable additions.

Dr. Carrada, herself, admitted the deficiencies.

Riverside Medical Center emergency room personnel as well as those of other private hospitals kept their masks on just in case any suspected SARS patient is brought in. The policy, however, was loud and clear SARS suspected patients should immediately be brought to the crisis centers in either the CLMMRH or the Provincial Hospital.