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Thursday, May 22, 2003
We’re off Sars list; ‘no reason to relax’
CEBU -- After 20 days without any new cases, the Philippines was declared free of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
That settles the debate on declaring a state of calamity in Cebu, but should not be a reason for complacency, said Provincial Board (PB) tourism committee chairperson Ina Asirit.
And although the WHO found the Sars isolation unit of Cebu City’s Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) adequate, the hospital’s overall preparedness to handle the disease will still be gauged by the WHO this week.
The pneumonia-like virus has left more than 670 people dead and infected around 8,000 in roughly 25 countries since it first appeared in southern China last November.
The new hotspot of Sars cases is Taiwan, with 35 fresh cases recorded, a third sharp rise in new cases in as many days. The WHO slapped a travel alert on all regions in Taiwan.
A team of WHO experts is in Cebu to train hospital personnel on controlling infections in hospitals, as a means of preventing the spread of Sars.
The team will conduct a surprise drill this week to see how prepared the VSMMC personnel are in transporting and managing suspected and confirmed Sars patients.
“The isolation unit here is already coming along quite well. It is designed to handle a few people but it is adequate to manage the situation in the Philippines,” said Glenys Harrington, WHO infection control committee member.
Follow processes
More important than the equipment in the isolation unit, Harrington said health workers should be trained to follow processes that will control infection within the hospital, such as the proper use of personnel protective equipment (PPEs).
She stressed that health workers should take more precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the Sars virus through droplet spray, contact and tests and procedures that may generate aerosols.
Harrington said some procedures and tests, which were done on Sars patients, created aerosols that contained the Sars virus.
Aerosols, which is suspended in the air, have been associated with the transmission of the Sars virus from patients to health workers, especially in cases where procedures such as bronchoscopy, intubation and nebulizers were used.
“The three procedures are highly discouraged unless they are really needed by the Sars patients because they create fine aerosols that have been associated with the transmission of the disease to health workers,” Harrington said in a press conference Wednesday.
Common transmission
Since aerosols are present only in hospital facilities, the WHO cautioned the public against the most common form of transmission, which is through droplet spray or contact transmission with the Sars patient or contaminated objects.
This can be prevented by avoiding hand, face and mouth contact and by properly wearing PPEs.
Because of the WHO’s move to declare the Philippines as Sars-free, Asirit said Gov. Pablo Garcia can access the calamity funds without the declaration of a state of calamity or adopting the anti-Sars ordinance prepared by the Department of Interior and Local Government.
The Board only has to pass a resolution authorizing the governor to access the calamity funds for Sars-related preparations because the outbreak might “recur,” Asirit said.
“It would be funny that we request WHO to get us off the list of Sars-infected countries only to issue such a declaration,” said Asirit.
Sars fund
Earlier, Garcia had announced he will give P200,000 for each town and P300,000 for cities to fund Sars-related activities.
His critics believe the move is unnecessary and may only subject the calamity funds, which is five percent of Capitol’s P1.132-billion budget, to abuse and politics.
Board Member Victor Maambong had sponsored a resolution declaring Cebu in a “state of imminent calamity” because of Sars, but his colleagues prevailed on him to withdraw his proposal.
Even if the WHO removed the country from the Sars-infected list last Tuesday, Dr. Melecio Dy, chief of the National Center for Health Facility Development of the DOH central office, said there is still a need to educate the public on Sars prevention.
The change in climate in Cebu should also not be a reason for Cebuanos to be complacent in fighting Sars since there is still no proof that climate affects the survival of the Sars virus.
“At the WHO, we have not had a research showing that climate is a factor in the spread of the Sars virus. Whether the climate affects the survival of the virus or not, we don’t live in a sterile environment. We’re all exposed to various viruses and bacteria,” Harrington said. Sun.Star Cebu
(May 22, 2003 issue)
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