Published: Thursday July 23, 2009 MYT 1:40:00 PM
Updated: Thursday July 23, 2009 MYT 6:32:20 PM

First A(H1N1) related death in Malaysia (Update)

By LOH FOON FONG

PUTRAJAYA: A 30-year-old Indonesian student became the first Influenza A(H1N1) related fatality here, although the cause of death was not the disease itself.

Initial investigations show that the cause of death was the result of a cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation (irregular heart rhythm), Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

The first-year student at the International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance, Kuala Lumpur, had other underlying medical conditions.

“Influenza A(H1N1) was not a direct cause of his death,” he told a press conference on Thursday.

The patient went back to Indonesia for a holiday and returned to Malaysia on July 5 and was reported to have been suffering a mild fever and cough, Liow said.

On July 21, the patient fainted while waiting for his medication after seeing a doctor at a private medical centre in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur. He was given emergency treatment but his life could not be saved, he said.

The patient passed away at 11:50am and the medical centre recorded “cardiac arrest due to ventrical fibrillation” as the cause of death, he added.

“A post-mortem examination was carried out at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on the same day and results showed that the patient was obese, had pneumonia, an enlarged heart and liver and pus-like material at the bottom of the trachea,” he said.

Liow said 20 specimens had been taken for virology, bacterialogy, histopatology, bio-chemical and toxicology tests.

The virology and bacteriology tests on lung tissues and the trachea showed the presence of Influenza A (H1N1) while tests on Influenza A (H5N1), dengue and leptospira were negative.

“We are still waiting for other test results and the cause of death will be confirmed once all the tests are complete,” he said.

Liow said 25 staff members of the medical centre in contact with the patient were ordered to self-quarantine themselves for seven days.

Seven of his room-mates and members of his study group at the college have been identified, and one of them had sought treatment for influenza symptoms.

The Ministry had carried out health checks at the college on Thursday, he said.

There were 18 new cases reported Thursday, 17 of them the result of local tranmissions and one was imported from a Malaysian returning from London.

Of the local transmissions, 13 were from four clusters in Malacca while the rest were isolated cases.

The four clusters -- Durian Daun Teachers Training College (five cases), Mara Foundation College (four cases), Mara Professional College hostel (three cases) and the Nilam Nursing School Bachang (one case) -- were ordered to close for seven days beginning Thursday.

Malaysia has a total of 939 cases with 573 (61%) imported and 366 local transmissions as of Thursday.

Of that figure, 11 (1%) received anti-viral treatment in hospitals, 922 cases had recovered and five cases (1%) received outpatient treatment at their homes.

On Thursday, The Straits Times in Singapore reported two more fatalities in the island republic, bringing its toll to three.

Both patients also had underlying medical conditions. They were a 13-year-old boy who had epilepsy and a 55-year-old man with motor neuron disease, a nerve disorder.

The first death, last Saturday, was of a 49-year-old man who had multiple health problems including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

More to come