Wednesday August 26, 2009

H1N1: Toddler is victim number 70

PETALING JAYA: A three-year-old child has died of the influenza A(H1N1) virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 70.

As at 9am yesterday, 52 new patients had been admitted for influenza-like illness, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Meri-can.

The child’s death, he said, had been confirmed by the Mortality Review Commit-tee.

“On Aug 12, the child sought early treatment in the hospital after experiencing seizure and cough for two days.

“The child was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and was given Tamiflu treatment after the patient’s condition deteriorated on Aug 13,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The child had tested positive for H1N1 on Aug 17.

However, the child died on Aug 18 due to H1N1 encephalitis with cerebral oedema and multiple organ failure, he said.

Dr Ismail said 1,345 patients with influenza-like illness were seeking treatment at 82 hospitals including a private hospital nationwide.

Of that, 202 patients (15%) had tested positive for H1N1.

“Of the 202 cases, 42 are in ICU and 38 cases (95%) had risk factors such as chronic disease (15 cases), obesity (nine cases), diabetes (six cases), children or babies (three), pregnant or postnatal (three) and Down Syndrome (two cases),” he added.

Dr Ismail also said that 152 patients with influenza-like illness had been discharged.

He advised parents to monitor the movement of their children during the ongoing school holidays to ensure they stayed away from crowded places.

“It is important to ensure that children are not exposed to infections,” he added.

Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai is scheduled to have a dialogue on the handling of influenza-like illness with private medical practitioners on Aug 27.

In Terengganu, State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs committee chairman Dr A. Mokhtar told the state assembly that there were 895 cases of H1N1 in the state since the outbreak two months ago but no deaths had been reported there.

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