PUTRAJAYA, Feb 12 — A Chinese woman who was with a group of Chinese tourists on a visit to Sabah has been confirmed to have been infected by the Avian Infleunza A(H7N9) virus, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
Describing it as the first A(H7N9) case reported in the country , Dr Subramaniam (picture) said the 67-year-old tourist from Guangdong province in China was now receiving treatment at the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu but her condition was stable.
He clarified that this type of bird flu could only spread to humans from infected poultry and that the possibility of human-to-human infection was very remote.
“I hope the people will be very clear about this virus, and I advise the people not to panic.
“Nevertheless, we will take the necessary steps to ensure contact with the patient is reduced to the bare minimum,” he told a press conference after chairing his ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting here today.
Meanwhile, touching on the dengue situation in the country, Dr Subramaniam expressed concern on the number of fatalities, with 22 deaths recorded from January till February 10 and 11,879 cases detected as compared to 3,112 cases in the same period last year.
“The situation is not good, more than 2,000 cases a week. We all hope everyone will do their part to combat this menace,” he said.
Dr Subramanian also lauded a recent report by InternationalLiving.com, which listed Malaysia as among the top three countries in the world for health services.
Malaysia came behind France and Uruguay and ahead of countries like Sepanyol, Italy, Ireland and New Zealand in the report.
“Besides this, Malaysia was also placed 18th out of 45 country for efficient health services by Bloomberg.com last year. I am confident the reports will boost health tourism for Malaysia,” he added. — Bernama
