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Saturday, May 10, 2003
Other Cordillera hospitals readied for Sars
By May Anne Cacdac
BAGUIO -- Health officials in the Cordillera said there are plans to develop the capability of other hospitals in the region to accommodate suspected and probable Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) cases.
"We are also looking into developing other provincial hospitals as referral hospitals who will accommodate Sars suspected and probable patients. Here in Baguio City, the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center is the referral hospital," said Dr. Antonio Bautista, during a press conference sponsored by the Baguio Tourism Council, Baguio Association of Hotels and Inns and Baguio Association of Restaurants.
One hospital being considered is the Benguet General Hospital, said Bautista, Sars information officer of the Department of Health (DOH) Disease Control and Prevention Office.
Bautista came up with the guidelines that are being followed by health authorities in monitoring the entry and local transmission of the disease in Baguio City and the rest of the region.
"First, we have to apply a quarantine system for all travelers, especially those who came from Sars-infected countries or locales. We also have to monitor the points of destination of these travelers," Bautista said.
He added that the frontliners on the procedure are the airport officials.
"We are asking the travelers, if and when cleared by airport officials to be asymptomatic (not showing any signs of Sars), to please report anyway to the DOH or designated referral hospitals for further monitoring."
Bautista also clarified the classification of suspected and probable Sars patients.
According to the health official, considered as suspected Sars patients are those who have had history of travel, especially in countries and areas with cases of atypical pneumonia, and those who have had direct contact with infected persons.
"Sars probable cases are those who, during confinement, develop pneumonia as confirmed by their x-ray findings," Bautista explained.
He added that since the city has a proven contact-tracing procedure and also an intensified information campaign on the disease, it would be a tedious process to monitor each and every traveler for fever.
Meanwhile, Bautista said that the surveillance system of city health authorities has been proven effective.
"In just a week, all the contacts of Adela Catalon, the first Sars fatality in the country and who was confirmed to have visited the city, have been traced and this shows that the contact-tracing procedure employed by health authorities works. As a result of this, ang (the) local transmission ng Sars dito sa (of Sars in the) city ay naputol (has been cut)," he added.
Earlier, it was reported that three representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) arrived in Baguio on Wednesday to assess the capability of the Baguio hospital in handling suspected or probable Sars cases.
The WHO representatives, led by an Australian medical expert, also met with health officials and gave lectures on disease infection control, said Dr. Teresita Bonoan, director of the DOH-CAR.
Bonoan said that the WHO team inspected the Contagious Disease Pavilion unit of BGH, where the five overseas Filipino Workers from Hong Kong and Dubai and the 21-year-old female Indian missionary were earlier confined.
They were all discharged from the hospital after health officials declared them Sars-free.
Bonoan said that the WHO is expected to release its official report regarding the capability of the Baguio hospital in handling suspected or probable Sars cases after visiting the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center and another hospital in Batac, Ilocos Norte.
(May 10, 2003 issue)
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