Bintulu cholera spread contained, says official
BINTULU, Aug 8 — The outbreak of cholera here on July 14 has been contained, Sarawak Assistant Minister for Public Health Dr Jerip Susil said today.
He said that as of yesterday, the Sarawak Health Department had been notified of 772 suspected cholera cases.
“All suspected cases were admitted (to hospital). One case was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and he has recovered fully. The total number of admissions as of August 7 (yesterday) was 302,” he told a media conference.
“Out of 110 positive cases, 50 had symptoms such as diarrhoea while 60 did not have any symptom,” he said, adding that of the 110 positive cases, 21 were food handlers who were carriers of the cholera bacteria.
As a precaution, he said, the department had ordered temporary closure of the affected food outlets and directed the operators to disinfect the premises.
He said the water quality in Bintulu was being monitored regularly, and the Lembaga Air Kawasan Utara (Laku) and Public Works Department (PWD) had increased the chlorine level in the water supplied to the affected areas.
Dr Jerip advised the people to take precautions in view of the coming Aidilfitri holidays so that there would be no spread of the disease with the mass movement of people during the festive season.
It had been reported that the outbreak occurred after three groups of participants of the Bintulu Regatta from July 6 to 8 from Rumah Gawan, Kampung Jepak and Kampung Hilir in Sebauh, Bintulu, used water from the Kemena River to wash plates, fish and their hands. — Bernama
