MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine government said Friday that 11 of 56 people who have close contacts of the nurse who tested positive for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-CoV) have manifested symptoms of the disease.
They are undergoing quarantine at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), according to the Department of Health ( DoH).
The 11 individuals include the nurse's husband, who came home with her via Saudi Airlines Flight SV860 on Feb. 1. The rest are health workers at the Evangelista Medical Specialty Hospital in San Pedro, Laguna where she first sought medical consultation on Feb. 2.
The nurse's mother-in-law and house helpers are also undergoing quarantine at RITM although they showed no symptoms at the moment, Sadie Janette Garin, DoH acting secretary, said in the press briefing.
"All 56 people yielded a negative result in the first round of tests using nose and throat swab samples. However, the 11 symptomatic patients will undergo another round of tests using sputum and rectal swab samples," she said.
Garin clarified that the nurse had 220 co-passengers on the flight she took. Ninety two of them have been located and agreed to be tested.
The government continued to call on the remaining passengers to contact DoH to be tested for the virus.