Author Topic: SARS-type virus prompts PHL advisory for Pinoys in Saudi Arabia, Qatar  (Read 815 times)

Lollapalooza

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SARS-type virus prompts PHL advisory for Pinoys in Saudi Arabia, Qatar
ANDREI MEDINA, GMA NEWS


Filipinos in Saudi Arabia and Qatar and those who are planning to go there have been warned of a new virus similar to one causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.

Doctors at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Quarantine section issued an advisory on September 25 to spread awareness about the virus, a medical official at the NAIA said.

The advisory came after reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) about the discovery of a SARS-type flu strain in the United Kingdom.

SARS is a severe respiratory illness that is caused by a coronavirus (species Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus of the genus Coronavirus), is transmitted especially by contact with infectious material (as respiratory droplets or body fluids), and is characterized by fever, headache, body aches, a dry cough, hypoxia, and usually pneumonia.

A reuters report said SARS appeared in China in 2002 and infected more than 8,000 people around the world, killing around 800 of them before being brought under control.

Doctor Ali Salvador Agama from the NAIA Terminal 1 Quarantine section told GMA News Online on Wednesday that the virus is still not fully identified.

“Right now, we cannot define its specific characteristics,” he said, adding that symptoms are similar to SARS' with "other arising problems."

“Symptoms include difficulty in breathing just like with SARS' but what’s peculiar now is that we have observed kidney problems in the infected people,” he said.

To prevent contracting the disease, he advised people especially overseas Filipino workers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar to:
Wash their hands regularly
Boost their immune system through a good diet
Cover their mouths when they cough or sneeze

The estimated number of Filipinos in Qatar and Saudi Arabia based on data from the Commission of Overseas Filipinos are:
Qatar - 305,331
Saudi Arabia - 1,512,539

Most recent case

The latest victim of the virus is a 49-year old Qatari man who was first diagnosed to have acute respiratory syndrome.

According an update on the WHO site, the condition was discovered on September 22, while the man was in the United Kingdom.

It said the man showed symptoms on September 3. Further background investigation showed he had traveled to Saudi Arabia. He was admitted in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Doha, Qatar on September 7, and was transferred to the UK via air ambulance on September 11.

Identity match 99.5%

Meanwhile, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the UK did laboratory tests confirming there was a novel coronavirus present in the man’s body.

The WHO report said doctors discovered a 99.5-percent compatibility with the sample from the Qatari man to a previous sample from a 60-year-old Saudi man who died earlier this year.

Even with the 99.5% match, the novel coronavirus is said to be ‘very different’ from SARS according to the WHO report.

The WHO, however, is currently doing its best to characterize the novel coronavirus with its six regions coordinating to immediately respond to any future cases. — LBG, GMA News

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Pikoy

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Re: SARS-type virus prompts PHL advisory for Pinoys in Saudi Arabia, Qatar
« Reply #1 on: September 26, 2012, 08:13:26 PM »
salamat sa imong pag post aning balitaa Lollapalloza..:D ;D

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ang bOrit kUng mAuy mAgdagHan DyutaY ra....

Lollapalooza

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Re: SARS-type virus prompts PHL advisory for Pinoys in Saudi Arabia, Qatar
« Reply #2 on: September 26, 2012, 08:19:20 PM »
salamat sa imong pag post aning balitaa Lollapalloza..:D ;D


way sapayan Engr... aw hehehehe Mr. Pikoy.. ;D ;D ;D

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