The Malaysian Insider

PETALING JAYA, June 11 – Malaysia confirmed another two new Influenza A (H1N1) cases today, bringing the total so far to 11. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the latest cases involved two Malaysian women who returned from Melbourne and Manila on June 9 and June 6 respectively.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) which had called for an emergency meeting today, is on the verge of declaring the outbreak a pandemic, the first in more than 40 years. To date, there are 27,824 confirmed cases of Influenza A(H1N1) with 141 deaths in 74 countries worldwide.

Liow said Malaysia is prepared to face the pandemic and was ready to launch more drastic measures, including conducting more thorough checks, especially at institutions such as schools and kindergartens, if the WHO raised the alert level to the maximun 6.

“There is no need to close down (schools). But we will take appropriate level of screening at schools, and take more drastic actions to protect the people in this country,” he added.

He said Health Department Director-General Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican had also been instructed to come up with more comprehensive planning to face the pandemic such as preparedness of the health frontliners and operation rooms and ways to contain local transmission.

The 10th case was a 17-year-old student who visited her family in Melbourne from June 7 to 9. She returned to Kuala Lumpur on June 9 on flight MH148 and was seated on seat 14A. She was warded at the Sg Buloh Hospital after showing symptoms of the disease and was confirmed positive for Influenza A(H1N1) late yesterday evening.

The 11th patient was a 41-year-old woman from Seberang Jaya, Penang. She went for a course in Manila on May 31 and returned to Penang on June 6 on Singapore Airlines flight SQ192, which transited in Singapore.

According to the report, she complained of fever on June 9 and was warded at the Penang Hospital yesterday. She was confirmed Influenza A(H1N1) positive at 9am today.

Liow said both patients were being treated at the respective hospitals and their conditions were stable.

Although no death has being reported, the latest cases raised grave concern for the Health Ministry, which feared that the consistently increasing number of imported cases would lead to local transmission, Liow said.

He was speaking to reporters after witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Guardian and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for the Undergraduate Community Pharmacy attachment programme near here.

He said the ministry had also taken more stringent measures at the country’s entry and exit points, including immediate quarantine at the hospitals for those who showed symptoms of the influenza.

Apart from screening passengers who arrived by air from affected countries, the health officials had also taken throat swabs of passengers who arrived from other countries.

He said flights from the affected countries, especially the US and Australia, would be given special attention.

Meanwhile Dr Ismail, in a statement here, said the ministry was tracking down the passengers and crew of flight MH148 from Melbourne which touched down at the KLIA at 7.30pm on June 9.

It had also contacted Singapore Airlines for information on passengers of flight SQ192. He said 178 people were placed under house quarantine today and all of them did not show any symptoms of the disease. – Bernama