7 OFWs from Sierra Leone being monitored for Ebola

Seven overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who arrived home from Sierra Leone are currently being monitored for Ebola virus, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday.

The seven were among the 15 who were recently repatriated from Sierra Leone — one of the three African countries with high number of Ebola cases — following the Ebola outbreak there, DOH spokesman Lydon Lee-Suy said.

The rest have already been cleared, Suy was quoted as saying in a report on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali."

A DOH statement said the country remains "Ebola-free" and that it is not letting its guard down on the possible entry of any emerging infectious disease.

Ebola is a severe, infectious, often fatal disease in humans and primates caused by infection from the Ebola virus.



Precautions

To keep the country Ebola-free, returning OFWs are urged to seek clearance with local health authorities from their country of employment especially if they are manifesting fever, headache, intense weakness, joint and muscle pains and sore throat.

"Once repatriated, the DOH through the Bureau of Quarantine (BoQ) will determine the status of returning Filipinos upon arrival and refer symptomatic cases to the appropriate health facilities for clinical care. Asymptomatic individuals will be closely monitored daily by the Health Emergency Management Staff (HEMS) of the DOH," the DOH said.

According to DOH Secretary Enrique Ona, the most at risk to contract Ebola infection are health care workers and laboratory workers who may be exposed to secretions and specimens from infected individuals.

"Family members and those in close contact with those who are sick can also become infected," he said in the DOH statement.

High alert

The DOH is currently on high alert for the possible entry of the Ebola virus in the country.

Precautionary measures include the thermal scanning of all passengers coming from international flights are being implemented to help determine whether passengers are nursing a fever, considered an indicator for the Ebola virus.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is closely observing the Filipinos in the African countries where the Ebola virus is currently spreading.

It also raised Crisis Alert Level 2 (Restriction Phase) in the countries of Guinea, which has a Filipino population of 880; Liberia, 632; and Sierra Leone, 1,979, where Ebola outbreaks have been reported. —Andrei Medina/KBK, GMA News