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More suspected-MERS patients in Medan
Quarantined: A doctor examines a patient suspected of having the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), in an isolation ward at the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan on Friday
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Quarantined: A doctor examines a patient suspected of having the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), in an isolation ward at the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan on Friday. The hospital received four more patients suspected of having the virus, taking the total number of patients to six. (Antara/Septianda Perdana) (MERS-CoV), in an isolation ward at the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan on Friday. The hospital received four more patients suspected of having the virus, taking the total number of patients to six. (Antara/Septianda Perdana)
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span class="inline inline-none">Quarantined: A doctor examines a patient suspected of having the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), in an isolation ward at the Adam Malik General Hospital in Medan on Friday. The hospital received four more patients suspected of having the virus, taking the total number of patients to six. (Antara/Septianda Perdana)
More people have been admitted to hospitals across the archipelago over fears that they contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) while in the Middle East.
In Medan, North Sumatra, four people, who have just returned from umrah (minor pilgrimages) in Saudi Arabia were admitted to Adam Malik Hospital. They have been identified as AP, 63; SW, 51; SM, 55; and MA, 71.
AP was transferred to the hospital from Teguh Murni Hospital in Belawan. The female patient had been suffering from a high fever, a cough and breathing difficulties since returning to Medan on May 3.
The other three patients went to hospital on their own after experiencing the same symptoms.
Adam Malik Hospital spokesperson Sairi Saragih said that AP was in an isolation ward, while doctors were waiting for the results of blood tests on the other three patients.
Saragih said that as of Friday afternoon, the hospital was treating six suspected-MERS patients .
'Two have shown signs of getting better, but we still have to wait for the test results [from Jakarta] to confirm if they are MERS positive or negative,' Saragih told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The two other patients were identified as SHN and SPJ.
A resident of Medan, KS, 54, died this week after being admitted to hospital only hours before. KS had shown MERS-like symptoms after returning from umrah on May 2.
A Balinese man died after complaining of similar symptoms on Wednesday, but the Bali Health Agency said he might have had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
As of Friday evening, three people in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, had been admitted to hospital complaining of MERS-like symptoms, while hospitals in Padang in West Sumatra and Kediri in East Java were treating one suspected-MERS patient each, Antara news agency reported.
Deputy Health Minister Ali Ghufron Mukti said on Friday that 48 samples tested for the virus had come back negative.
'As for the Medan [fatality] case, the examination is still ongoing,' Ali said as quoted by Antara.
Since there had not yet been any confirmed case of MERS, Ali went on, the government had not banned travel to Saudi Arabia.
'The World Health Organization [WHO] has yet to impose that [travel restriction],' he added.
Meanwhile, North Sumatra Governor Tengku Erry Nuradi called for travelers to the region to be careful, by wearing face masks and by avoiding physical contact with camels.
He also urged members of the Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) to be proactive in disseminating information on preventive measures to the community.
Such action, he went on, was needed to address anxiety and to ensure people were prepared.
The IDI has called on people with chronic diseases, pregnant women and the elderly to cancel their umrah or haj trips following the outbreak, Antara reported.
The Health Research and Development Agency (Balitbangkes) said sufferers of four chronic diseases ' diabetes mellitus, chronic lung disease, kidney disease and immunologic abnormalities ' were especially susceptible to MERS.
