Nurse supervising Iligan City polio vaccine drive contracts coronavirus

FROM ONE HEALTH WORRY TO ANOTHER. Operations at the Iligan City health office slows down after health workers went on quarantine following the infection of a nurse who supervised the vaccination drive for polio in the city. DIVINA SUSON

ILIGAN CITY—A nurse who supervises polio vaccination in six villages here has contracted SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and became 58th in the city’s tally of infection cases.

Dr. Cherlina Canaveral, city health officer, said the nurse, 61-years-old, was from the village of Villaverde. She had been admitted to a hospital on July 29 after suffering from fever and cough, which are symptoms of COVID-19.

Cañaveral said city health officials were still trying to determine the source of infection because the nurse’s only contact was with a family member who came home after being stranded in Metro Manila, where the spread of infection has gone uncontrolled.

But the relative had tested negative for the virus after a test called reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction which detects antigens, instead of antibodies.

Health authorities have traced 38 persons who had close contact with the nurse.

At least 15 more persons, who had exposure to the nurse in her work for the polio vaccination program, are also being hunted.

Cañaveral said the number of persons who need to be traced may increase because the patient was supervising the vaccination drive in six heavily populated villages.

TSB