DoH: zero Phl Ebola case
The Bureau of Quarantine will tighten screening procedures for travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
RACE against the outbreak Medical workers in full protective gear transport a patient at a hospital in Rwampara as the Democratic Republic of the Congo battles its latest Ebola outbreak, which the World Health Organization says has claimed 139 lives from nearly 600 probable cases, many in the conflict-hit and hard-to-reach Ituri province.
Seros Muyisa / Agence France-Presse
The Department of Health (DoH) on Saturday assured the public that no Ebola case has been recorded in the Philippines despite ongoing outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
In an interview, DoH spokesperson Undersecretary Albert Domingo said there is no reason for public alarm. “To be very clear, we do not have any Ebola case in the Philippines,” Domingo said.
Asked whether Filipinos should be concerned, he replied: “There is really no reason.”
Domingo said the country remains at low risk because the outbreak is confined to parts of Africa far from the Philippines “For now, we are at low risk, especially since the outbreak is occurring in Africa,” he said.
He added that the World Health Organization (WHO) has not recommended travel restrictions and that the Philippines has no plans to impose a travel ban.
“There is no recommendation from the WHO for a travel ban, and we will not implement one,” he said.
However, the Bureau of Quarantine will tighten screening procedures for travelers arriving from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Domingo said he had coordinated with Bureau of Quarantine director Roberto Salvador on enhanced monitoring measures.
“The Bureau of Quarantine will implement enhanced screening for travelers coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda,” he said.
Domingo emphasized that Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected body fluids and is not airborne like Covid-19. He said symptoms initially include fever, headache and body pain, which may progress to diarrhea, vomiting and nausea.
Domingo noted that the Philippines previously recorded incidents involving the Reston strain of Ebola in 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2008, but the strain did not cause illness in humans.
“What we are monitoring now is the Bundibugyo species,” he said. He added that Ebola has a fatality rate of about 40 percent to 50 percent and that there is currently no approved medicine or vaccine specifically for the Bundibugyo strain.
According to WHO data, about 700 suspected cases have been linked to the outbreak.