Wednesday April 6, 2011

11 police trainees being treated for influenza-like illness

PUTRAJAYA: Eleven police trainees at the Army Basic Training Centre in Telok Kemang are being treated for the adenovirus and A(H1N1).

“The trainees have influenza-like illness (ILI) but they are all in stable condition,” Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

Six were being treated for the adenovirus and five for A(H1N1), he said after the ministry's monthly gathering yesterday.

Liow said the first eight cases were treated at a Port Dickson clinic after they were detected with ILI on March 31. The other three were warded at Port Dickson Hospital on Monday.

He added that 98 more trainees had been isolated at the centre for further observation.

Liow said a directive had been sent to all other training centres to keep their premises clean and well-ventilated.

“The adenovirus and A(H1N1) are everywhere. Everyone must play their part in ensuring cleanliness and good ventilation,” he said.

Liow added that anyone with flu symptoms - fever, cough, flu and body aches - should practise good hygiene etiquette by distancing themselves from crowds.

“If you are coughing and you mix with other people, it is not fair to others,” he said.

He urged other centres to remember that ILI detected in crowded facilities must be referred to doctors to prevent spread of the disease.

“Viruses spread easily in groups because of the proximity. It is the same with schools. If the patients are not treated early, the spread will be fast and fatal, just like what happened at the Police Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur,” he warned.

Three trainees at the centre died from adenovirus infection which began early last month.

On a separate matter, Liow said the decision to issue a one-month notice to close down a private haemodialysis centre in Seberang Perai last week should not be politicised.

He said the Seberang Perai Selatan Haemodialysis Centre was issued the notice because it did not have a full-time nephrologist.

He said the centre had been given a grace period since May 1, 2006, when a regulation to govern minimum standards in haemodialysis centres was introduced.

Liow said the centre was even allowed to hire full-time nephrologists who had the necessary 200 hours experience in handling haemodialysis machines.

“If they promise to continue to attain the necessary hours over a set period, we can give them some leeway,” he said.

There are about 500 private, non-profit and government-run centres nationwide serving about 20,000 patients.

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