Suspected MERS-CoV OFW Patient Found To Be Negative From the Disease

The patient who was first thought to have Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) got negative test results, as confirmed by the Department of Health (DOH).

The patient was brought to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Muntinlupa from Laguna just to make sure that he is free from the disease.

The patient, a 47-year-old Overseas Filipino Worker From Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, came to the Philippines last February 14, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque.

The man was first brought to the Laguna Doctors Hospital after experiencing cough and difficulty of breathing, some of the symptoms of MERS-CoV.

The Laguna Doctors Hospital where the patient was first brought immediately conducted disinfection into their emergency room and already have a normal operation as of the moment.

Other symptoms of MERS-CoV include fever and sore throat, says the DOH. Fatigue can also be a symptom of this disease as well as headache, chills, vomiting, and diarrhea.

MERS-CoV is a betacoronavirus which is from bats. Camels, on the other hand, do have antibodies for this disease so the infection in camels has yet to be identified. Camels are the culprit in the spread of the virus to humans but how it happened remains unclear. It requires close contact with the patient for this disease to be spread to another human. Currently, the risk of the global population is fairly low.

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