JOSEPH HOLANDES UBALDE, GMANews.TV
06/03/2009 | 06:53 PM
UP CLOSE. A microscopic image of the A(H1N1) virus, which has so far affected 19,273 people in 66 countries and killed 117 others as of last count. APMANILA, Philippines - A Filipina nurse who had just returned from a vacation in the Philippines is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) first confirmed case of the deadly A(H1N1) virus.
Saudi Health Minister Abdullah bin Abdulaziz said the nurse didn't show any symptoms at the Riyadh airport when she arrived last Friday from the Philippines, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
The Filipina only developed symptoms three days later and was tested as part of a routine check at the clinic she works at.
A second test confirmed the virus on Wednesday morning. The health ministry did not provide the woman's name or give other details.
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ed Malaya told GMANews.TV that the Philippine post in Riyadh has been alerted to care for the Filipina nurse.
"The Department of Foreign Affairs has instructed the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh to look into the case and facilitate the extension of medical care," Malaya told GMANews.TV Wednesday evening.
Meanwhile, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said he received the news about the Filipina but cannot confirm if she indeed is the first A(H1N1) case in the Philippines.
Last week, Japan's Health Ministry reported that a Filipino-Japanese boy and his sister who recently visited the Philippines, tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus.
As of Wednesday, the Philippines has 22 confirmed cases of the deadly flu. The latest case is an exchange student from the De La Salle University.
The Philippine Embassy in Britain has earlier warned that Filipino health care workers abroad are the most vulnerable to the dreaded A(H1N1) or swine flu virus. As of Wednesday, the World Health Organization recorded 339 cases of A(H1N1) in Britain.
Most of the 200,000 Filipinos in the United Kingdom are employed as nurses.
"The Embassy noted that the nurses and caregivers are among the most vulnerable to possible infection as they are exposed to the virus and their resistance levels may not be strong because of long work hours. They need to take care of themselves as they take care of others," Ambassador Edgardo B. Espiritu said.
Since the A(H1N1) broke out in the Philippines, embassies and consulates abroad have adopted a proactive stance to protect Filipinos from the virus.
This includes going door-to-door or organizing text drives to heighten the awareness of Filipinos against the disease. - Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV
From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.
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