Initial batch of Etihad passengers tested negative for MERS-CoV

By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo - 11 years ago

Passengers walk past a thermal scanner at the medical quarantine area at the arrival section of Manila’s International Airport in Paranaque, south of Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health on Monday announced that the initial batch of passengers of Etihad Airlines flight EY 0424 tested negative for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – Corona Virus (MERS-CoV).

“Sa mga lumabas na resulta na nakuha natin, lahat naman ay negatibo pa,” Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH’s program manager for national disease prevention and control, told Inquirer Radio 990AM.

(Of the results that came out, everyone tested negative.)

Malacañang confirmed that 173 have been contacted out of 414 passengers of the said flight that arrived in the Philippines last April 15. So far, 100 of them tested negative for the virus, while 73 are still waiting for their test results.

The announcement came days after the agency re-examined a male Filipino nurse who tested positive for the virus in the United Arab Emirates.

The nurse, who did not show symptoms of the illness, was already on the said Etihad flight when his test results came out in UAE, where a Filipino paramedic died because of the MERS-CoV.

Suy said the nurse underwent the test twice in the Philippines to make sure that he was no longer a carrier of the virus. He said it was possible that the nurse was initially exposed to the virus but recovered on his way home.

Call to passengers

“Not until na-examine natin lahat ng nakasakay doon sa Etihad EY 424…then we can safely say na as of the moment wala tayong MERS Corona Virus. Kaya pinaiigting natin ang kampanya natin na hanapin po ang iba pang pasahero,” Suy said.

(Not until we examined all the passengers of Etihad EY 424 can we safely say that as of the moment the country has no incidence of MERS Corona Virus. That is why we are intensifying our campaign to find the other passengers.)

Over the weekend, both the DOH and Malacañang sent advisories, urging the passengers to contact authorities (through DOH’s 24-hour hotlines: 711-1001; 711-1002; 0922-884-1564; 0920-949-8419; at 0915-772-5621) and undergo testing.

While the DOH is already coordinating with Etihad, some of the numbers in the passengers list were out of service.

“To be honest, merong mga pasahero na may resistance. Pinaliwanagan namin na ito ay hindi lang para sa inyo kundi para sa pamilya ninyo,” Suy explained.

(To be honest, there are also passengers who are resistant. But we explain that it must be done not just for them but for their families.)

He said the test is free and the nose and throat swab can be done at a nearby government hospital or DOH personnel can visit the passenger’s residence.

The DOH has already published the list of passengers yet to be contacted and tested for MERS-CoV.

Although a Filipino paramedic had already died of the virus earlier this month in UAE, the spread of MERS-CoV is not yet considered an epidemic.

The MERS-CoV is a deadly virus related to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Its symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath and diarrhea.

According to the World Health Organization, from September 2012 to April 17, 2014, there were 243 confirmed cases of MERS-CoV infection all over the world, 93 of which have resulted in death.

Malaysia, on Wednesday, reported the first death attributed to MERS-CoV in Asia. The victim recently went on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, media reports said.

LIST OF PASSENGERS YET TO BE CONTACTED BY DOH AS OF APRIL 21, 2014

(Please call DOH’s 24-hour hotlines: 711-1001; 711-1002; 0922-884-1564; 0920-949-8419; at 0915-772-5621)

ABBAS, ESMAIL
ABELLANA, CHRISTOPHER
ABUTOG, CHRISTIAN JOHN
ABUTOG, MELOGINA
ACOSTA, OSCAR ANGEL CABAUATAN
ADALIN, DEDICACION
ADAP, CLARENCE
AGPAOA, VERLE
AGUSTIN, JOJIT
AKPAKPAN, KUFRE JAMES
ALBERTO, EDWIN
ALBINO, MARITON GAY
ALFANTE, FEDINAND LUI
ALQUITRAN, CAITLYN ANN
ALQUITRAN, CHERRYLANNE NOLASCO
ALQUITRAN, ARMINDA NOLASCO
ALQUITRAN, CYRIL PEROCHO
ALVAREZ, DENNIS
AQUINO, ALJESS
ASTILLERO, MICHAELA JANINA
ATIENZA, RENATO
AUSTERO, JIMMY
BABLES, LINA
BALLARAN, JERELYN CHAVEZ
BALLOGAN, JOCELYN
BALTAZAR, EDWARD
BAMBAO, SHARON
BANDOY, ERLINDA
BARBERO, ROBERTO
BARRETTO, ARNOLD
BARTOLO, LIEZEL
BEA, MAY JOY
BEHZAD BEHBEHANI, BRUNO
BELLO, OSCAR
BELMONTE, WILFREDO
BERNARDINO, MARLON
BOSE, ELENA
BRITOS, BERNARDO
BUCAYU, TELESFORO JR
BUSTOS, ARNEL
CABANTO, RODRIGO
CABRAL, CARMINA
CABRAL, CARLO LOUIS
CADUNGOG, JOMARI
CALANOC, MAUREEN
CANELA, EDUARDO
CANLAS, JOSE DANDI
CARAYUMAN, MIGUEL
CASTIGADOR, VICTORINA
CATALAN, ALLAIN
CHIARPOTTO, ELENA MARIA
CLAVERIA, RAINERIO ILUMINADO
CO, MARK ANTHONY
COLANO, NURAYNA
COLICO, JOSEL
COLIS, SHIRLEY
COLIS, CECILIA
CORDANO, SAMUEL
CORONEL, JUSTIN LOUIS
DAMANDAMAN MA, JONA
DAMANDAMAN, JOHN TRISTAN
DANGOY, PETRONILO JR G
DANTULURI, APPALA SATYANARAYANA VARMA
DAYAPAN, ROMMEL PERMALINO
DAYRIT, DIANAH A
DE GUZMAN, RANDIE
DE LEON, SHIELA
DEL RIO, VERONICA
DELA CRUZ, JAN MILEYA E
DELA CRUZ, MICHAEL
DERONZIER, PAULINE ANNA
DIONISIO, JINKY
DIVINA, VICTORIA
DIVINO, LUCIANO JR
DIZON, AUGUSTO
DOLOR, LEO
DOMINGO, JOSEPH
DOMOSOYLO, DIANE GRACE SAN JUAN
DONOS, ARLENE ORIO
ESGUERRA, JAYPEE
ESMINO, PANCHO JR
ESTEBAN, PETER HIPOLITO
ESTRANERO, DIANA SANGCAP
FABRE, VINCENT
FIGUEROA, ELIZABETH
FLORENTINO, LITO
FLORES, MEJHOR ERNESTO JR
FORTALEZA, ZARAH
FORTUNATO, JENIFFER
FUGABAN, MENCHIE
FURTO, EMELITO
GABOTERO, SUE
GACUSANA, RUBEN
GADAINGAN, JOMEL
GALANTO, EUGENE
GALAPIA, RUBY JANE
GARCIA, PRISCILA
GARCIA, ZSAREHN
GARCIA, NICO JAY
GATHURI, PENINA NABWIRE
GIPAN, RUTH
GUECO, MARIA TERESA D
HALILI, MONICA
HERNANDEZ, EDWARD
HERNANDEZ, MARK DENNIS
HONG, YUNHUI
HUTCHINSON, NATHAN SAMUEL
HUTCHINSON, ALMA
IGNACIO, GLORIA
ILETO, RENIEL
IOANNOU, GEORGIOS
IOANNOU, CHRISTAKIS
JAVAR, VILMA
JAVIEN, RESURRECCION
KANG, HYONDOK
KHALIL, ALFRED
KING, RAFAEL
KOURSARIS, COSTAS
LAGNASON, CYRUS CASTRO
LAW, JEFFREY
LECTOR, JOSE ERIBERTO
LICO, MARETES
LINNOM, ROLYNE
LLANES, ARCEO POSE
LLANES, CHRISTIAN ALMERO
LUNGAY, FLORDELIZA
MABUTAS, MARCELINO JR
MACARAIG, MICHELLE
MACARAIG, CHELSEA MADELLE
MACAVINTA, JO ANNA
MADALE, ELIAS
MAGPANTAY, LAWRENCE JAY PENTINIO
MAGPANTAY, LUCENA PENTINIO
MAGPANTAY, JERRY
MAMARIL, DANILO GAPUZAN
MANALASTAS, ROLANDO
MANALO, NOMER
MANGABO, MANRIA GRACE
MANSIT, CAROL
MARZAN, RODRIGO
MATIAS, MYRA
MATIAS, DANIEL CHRISTIAN
MATIC, MELINDA
MEDINA, EDGARDO
MELANO, FERNANDO
MENDOZA, CASIANO
MERCURIO, ESTRELLA
MESSIONA, MA LUZ BERBAL
NAIG, FROILAN
NAVARRO, AIZA
NGO, KHE HUY WEI
NORONA, NORBERTO
NOTARTE, LEONARDO
PABLO, ALEXANDER
PAGALA, CRISELDA
PAGTAKHAN, MARIA CELESTINA
PAJARILLO, MICHELLE
PALENCIA, CELIA
PAMAN, CANDY
PANGAN, ALFER
PASCUAL, ANATOLY
PAZ, KARL HEIDLE
PAZ, KARL HEIDLE
PELAGIO, MARIA THEREA
PETRIDIS, ANDREAS
PETRIDIS, ABEGAIL JIMENEZ
PETRIDOU, NATALIA
PILAPIL, GEMMA
PONDAVELA, CONCEPCION
RAMIREZ, CANDIDO JR
RCHAVEZ, ANN MARIE
REMINAJES, REMY
REOLIGIO, MERLY
REPE, CAROL
RIVERA, AILEEN
ROBANTE, MYLENE
RONDINA, ANTONIO JR
ROSARIO, ROBERTO JR
ROSARIO, JONA
SAGUN, GRACE ANN
SALDO, TESSIE B
SALSALIDA, MA ISOBELLE JOY MALAYANG
SAMSON, MAYRAFLOR
SAN RAMON, VALERIANO
SANCHEZ, MARYLOU
SANGALANG, RICHELL
SANTOS, ALVIN
SANTOS, ARMANDO
SARMIENTO, REYNALD
SCHELVIS, ADOLF WILHELMUS
SINAY, JASMINE
SINAY, WILFRED
SINCULAN, KRISTIAN
SITON, STEPHANIE GEORGETTE
SOLAMO, BEN
SOLIMAN, ROLDAN
SOREBILLO, NICHOLINE
SOROLLA, LIYSTELY A
SULABO, MARYJANE
TAN, FLORABEL
TANGI, LEOMARK
TARDIO, BRANDON
TAYAG, MERLITA
TORRES, JOAN MICHAELE NOAH
TORRES, EDGARDO
TORRES, JOAN DANIELE BERYL
TUICO, EDWIN
TUMIBAY, MARCO CYRUS
VALENCIA, WILFREDO
VALENTINO, MARICEL
VALIENTE, MARILOU EQUILA
VELASCO, JOAN
VELASCO, EDSEL
VELASCO, MARIKIT
VERALLO, RICARDO
VERANO, NORA
VILLAR, EDWIN JR
VINIEGAS, PATRICIA
VINIEGRA, YOLANDA
VIRREY, DIANNE BARBETTE
VITUG, EDUARDO JR
YAMCO, JUSTIN LOR
YUSUP, JERVIN

Originally posted at 10:15 am | Monday, April 21, 2014