Laoageños warned on Mers-Cov carrier

LAOAG CITY, May 9 – City officials have sounded an alarm to all residents here to be on the lookout for any carriers of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (MERS-Cov).

City Administrator Perry Martinez said all village officials were alerted to monitor their respective communities about any presence of suspected carriers following reports that an alleged carrier who arrived from the United Arab Emirates through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport entered the province of Ilocos Norte.

However, Dr. Renato Mateo, City Health Officer, said the report has yet to be confirmed.

“We (tried to locate the whereabouts of) the alleged carrier but upon monitoring and verification by our health workers here, there is no person inflicted with the virus in this city and province,” Mateo said.

Martinez said the best way to address the situation is to tap the community’s support since hospitals have limited monitoring system.
Health experts said MERS-Cov is a communicable disease that may be passed on to others through close contact with a positive carrier.

It has an incubation period of 10 to 14 days and symptoms may include fever, coughing, sneezing and runny nose two weeks after exposure.

The World Health Organization has recorded 242 confirmed cases of MERS-CoV, including 93 deaths, since it was first discovered in March 2012 in Saudi Arabia.

The DOH is currently locating 174 out of the 415 passengers of a flight from the Middle East who had yet to submit themselves to a swab test through a list circulated with the police.

Some of the listed passengers to be located are 51 from Central Luzon; 8 from Bicol, 6 from Negros Occidental; and 11 from Central Mindanao. (MCA/CDG,PIA-1, Ilocos Norte)