The Department of Health (DOH) will issue updated protocols this week to counter the spread of the Ebola disease following a global alert from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa explained that the upcoming guidelines are modeled after the protocols established during the 2014 international emergency caused by the Orthoebolavirus zairense strain.
“We don’t have a problem yet… there is no need to worry about this. It’s a warning that is normally given by WHO when they have an outbreak like this,” he added.
According to Herbosa, the new health protocols will heavily focus on strengthening surveillance measures at national borders, specifically targeting arriving airplanes and maritime vessels coming from the affected regions.
The latest global alarm was triggered by confirmed infections in the Central African nations of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.
Incoming passengers from these areas will be required to fill out digital eTravel forms containing specific health and illness questions to identify potentially infected individuals.
Border authorities will immediately isolate any traveler flagged during this digital and physical screening process in a quarantine facility.
According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ebola virus is not airborne but transfers through direct contact with infected bodily fluids.
Herbosa urged Filipino medical frontliners to exercise extreme caution and follow strict safety procedures when handling any suspected or infected patients.
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not meet the threshold for a pandemic, the chairperson of the WHO emergency committee on the situation said Wednesday.
“The current situation and criteria for a public health emergency of international concern have been met, and we agree that the current situation does not satisfy the criteria for a pandemic emergency,” Lucille Blumberg told reporters, speaking from South Africa. —With Agence France Presse
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated. Originally posted with the headline “DOH to update Ebola protocols after WHO emergency declaration.”
