Malaysia's health ministry is working closely with its
Chinese counterpart in monitoring the development of the H5N1 avian influenza
virus which killed a man in Shenzhen, China.
Minister Liow Tiong Lai said
there was still no report of transmission of the virus, which recorded a
fatality rate of 60 per cent between human beings, and urged Malaysians to remain
calm.
“What happened to the man in
China is an isolated case,” he said at the opening ceremony of Chempaka Medical
Services Centre here.
However, he said Malaysians
still needed to be cautious to ensure that they did not contract the virus.
“They must refrain from
visiting chicken farms and immediately consult the doctor if they catch the flu
or fever,” he said.
Liow said the ministry would
continue to screen the temperature of passengers at all airports.
“Anyone coming from the
affected countries like China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Indonesia who show high
temperature during the screening will be sent to the hospital for quarantine,”
he said, adding that no such patient had been sent to hospital so far.
The 39-year-old man, surnamed
Chen, died on Saturday in Shenzhen, a city that borders Hong Kong, where
thousands of chickens have already been culled after three birds tested
positive for the H5N1 virus last month.
He developed a fever on
December 21 and was taken to hospital four days later diagnosed with severe
pneumonia, according to the health department in Shenzhen, a city of more than
10 million people.
The department said the man had
no direct contact with poultry in the month before he was taken ill, nor had he
left the city.
On another matter, Liow said
the five most common serious ailments among senior citizens were hypertension,
diabetes and problems related to the eye, lungs and joints.
“The five most common risks
among older persons are high blood pressure, physical inactivity, cigarette or
tobacco smoking, abnormal blood glucose level and obesity.”
Liow added that nine hospitals
in the country had geriatric units with 13 geriatricians and eight
psycho-geriatricians serving patients aged above 60.
Malaysians above 60 years old
are now entitled to free healthcare, which covers medical examination,
treatment, counselling and rehabilitation, at all government hospitals and
clinics.
Ng Cheng Yee
The Star
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