KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 4 — The Health Ministry is in close contact with the World Health Organisation (WHO) over the recent influenza outbreak in Wuhan, China that saw 44 cases being reported and 11 patients remaining in critical condition.
In a statement today, its Disease Control Division said that currently, it has not concluded whether the recent outbreaks in Malaysia is related to the one in China but has ramped up its screening procedures at international border entries nationwide.
“We are in communication with the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the reports. Investigations are still being carried out by the health authorities in China and they cannot yet confirm what pathogen is causing the illness.
“There are many potential causes of viral pneumonia, many of which are more common than Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus. WHO is closely monitoring this event and will share more details with us in due course,” said the statement.
Nikkei Asian Review had reported that Asian governments are increasing their precautionary measures to prevent a mass outbreak after Beijing had reported of the 44 cases of a “viral pneumonia of unknown origin”.
There are concerns that the flu-like virus is linked to the highly contagious SARS virus that caused hundreds of deaths in Asia and elsewhere 17 years ago.
The outbreak prompted authorities in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia to take emergency measures, including stricter health control at borders and temperature screenings on all flights from Wuhan, in China’s central Hubei Province, where the outbreak originated.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said it will continue to monitoring symptoms of influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infection throughout the country. It will also look into the usage of antivirus in each state.
States have been requested to inform the ministry immediately if there are cases with pneumonia symptoms and if any patients have a history of visiting Wuhan recently.
“We are also monitoring our international entry points to ensure that travellers coming into the country will go through the necessary health screenings. If we detect anyone with a fever, we will examine the person at our quarantine centres.
“If we suspect the person has a contagious disease, the individual must be referred to the nearest health facility (based on fever screening procedures at international entry points),” said the statement.
