Virus advisory issued to OFWs in Saudi, Qatar

MANILA, Philippines - Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) based in Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been advised to observe proper hygiene to avoid contracting a new flu strain similar to the potentially fatal Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

The advice was issued yesterday by doctors assigned at the quarantine section of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) following reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) of a case of the new flu strain reported in the United Kingdom.

The WHO reported on Sunday that the UK informed them about a patient afflicted with acute respiratory syndrome with renal failure, and who had traveled to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The patient is a previously healthy, 49-year-old male Qatari who manifested the symptoms on Sept. 3, 2012 and who had gone to Saudi Arabia prior to the onset of the illness on Sept. 7. He was admitted to an intensive care unit in Doha, Qatar.

On Sept. 11, the patient was airlifted to the UK from Qatar. The Health Protection Agency of UK (HPA) conducted laboratory testing and confirmed the presence of a novel coronavirus, the WHO said.

The HPA has compared the sequencing of the virus taken from the Qatari with a virus sequenced previously at the Eramus University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

The latter was obtained from a lung tissue of a fatal case involving a 60-year-old Saudi national recorded earlier this year.

 “This comparison indicated 99.5 percent identity, with one nucleotide mismatch over the regions compared,” WHO reported.

WHO officials said the coronavirus is a large family of viruses, which include those that cause the common cold and SARS.

The WHO does not recommend any travel restriction.

NAIA quarantine doctor Caloy de la Reyna said proper hygiene by washing hands with soap regularly and clean surroundings will prevent the spread of the virus.

“There’s no need to panic, we are observing all incoming passengers from the Middle East and other parts of the world using our thermal scanners,” he said.