Too much fear about Ebola virus disease will cause waste of resources — DOH

MANILA — Department of Health Undersecretary Janette L. Garin stressed Monday the need to exercise calmness and refrain from sowing fear or panic in the event of an Ebola virus case in the country.

“Like what Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director general, said, too much fear will cause us to waste resources instead of using them on other important health needs. What is very important is preparation. It is the key to successfully deal with it,” Garin said in an interview with the Philippines News Agency.

Garin emphasized that the public must understand that the government had made earlier preparations like facilities for isolation and quarantine measures.

Garin cited that based on a study, about 90% of a country’s resource is lost once panic prevails.

She highlighted that what the public needs to know is to be aware on how the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is transmitted and who may be possibly had contact with a carrier through contact tracing.

She added that aside from good laboratory service available in some DOH facilities and readiness of its Regional Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), continuous education is being done by DOH in training health workers in the proper treatment or handling of suspected Ebola patient to prevent transmission.

“The public should also avoid miscommunication and they should also follow the proper filling up and disclosure of information if they came from the (infected) West African countries,” she said.

Meanwhile, she added that possible deployment of Filipino health workers to West African countries infected by EVD is still under close study.