BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL
A text message claiming an overseas Filipino
worker in Iloilo City, who fell sick of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona
Virus (MERS-CoV) infection, has caused confusion in Aklan.
The text message has been circulating around
Aklan this week cautioning the public to stay away from malls and hospitals in
Iloilo.
“Warning: got news that an OFW from Jeddah
now in Iloilo consulted at Iloilo Doctors Hospital emergency room yesterday for
feeling very sick. Her three friends in Jeddah were admitted in ICU for MERS
when she left. Yesterday this patient went to SM by jeep, then rode also by
jeep from Mandurriao to IDH for consultation. Very sick. Now IDH ER is closed.
Patient quarantined and transferred to WVMC. May we should avoid going to SM
and IDH muna,” the text message said.
MERS is a deadlier but less-transmissible
cousin of the SARS virus. The symptoms may include coughing, fever, sneezing,
and runny nose for two weeks after exposure.
Last month, the Department of Health (DoH) tracked
down overseas workers of Etihad Airlines from Adu Dhabi and Dubai who flew home
with a Filipino nurse.
DoH Region 6 confirmed that Western Visayas has
no positive case of MERS-CoV. Last Monday, a female nurse from Jeddah sought
consultation at the Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital due to fever, but, she was tested negative
for the virus after the swab test.
DoH appealed to the public not to panic amid
the MERS-CoV in the Middle East.
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