Friday October 10, 2008
Manjung dengue situation serious
By CHAN LI LEEN
SERI MANJUNG: The dengue situation in the Manjung district in Perak is very serious with four deaths reported to date, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said.
He said the patients’ illness turning acute and them dying suddenly from the disease was abnormal.
He further said a 50% rise in dengue haemorrhagic fever cases was also unseen before this.
“We need to raise the alarm on this and take action,” he said at the Seri Manjung Hospital during a visit to assess the dengue situation.
He said that between Aug 18 and Oct 5, 314 people had been suspected of dengue and admitted to the hospital here and the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh.
Liow said that whatever measures taken by the ministry to eradicate dengue would be futile without the public’s involvement, adding that the public must take care of their own hygiene and compounds.
Earlier during a briefing, state health director Datuk Dr Ahmad Razin Ahmad Mahir said that as of Oct 6 a total of 621 dengue cases had been reported in the district.
“The cases have also become more serious than usual,” he said.
Noting that some had expressed concern that swiftlet “hotels” were breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes, Dr Ahmad Razin said there was no evidence to link the two.
At a press conference later, Liow said seven-year-old Toh Guan Hee, who died in Taiping last week, had suffered from hand, foot and mouth disease but it was unconfirmed if he died from the deadly Enterovirus 71 strain.
Meanwhile, Liow said the ministry had banned another food product from China after it was found to contain excessive level of melamine.
“The ministry has instructed all stores selling Vigour 888 Filling Roll to take it off their shelves and to destroy them,” he said.
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