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theSun
3
| WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 2009
news without borders
Telling the difference between A(H1N1) and seasonal flu PETALING JAYA: If you are experiencing a case of the sniffles, how can you tell that it is not the flu borne by the A(H1N1) strain? theSun spoke to the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Division deputy director (Communicable Disease Surveillance), Dr Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, to explain the virus and the illness. First detected in Mexico, the virus is transmitted through air-droplets when infected people sneeze or cough, he said in a telephone interview yesterday. According to Zainuddin: the air-droplets can travel up to 1m in distance; the virus in the open environment
» »
survive from two to eight hours;
» the volume of virus in the air-drop-
let will be reduced within one or two hours in the open environment; the virus can only survive in a living cell; the infected patient normally takes about one week to recover, provided there is proper treatment. “It is a bit difficult to immediately tell the difference between the A(H1N1) virus and the seasonal flu strains because the symptoms are almost similar,” he said. The symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue and, in some cases, diarrhoea and vomiting. For now, Zainuddin said, the only way to identify whether the individual
» »
[email protected]
PUTRAJAYA: The government has no plan to close all schools or ban public gatherings in the Klang Valley although most of the A(H1N1) cases are reported in the area, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. He said the government would apply the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols in containing the spread of the virus. “Unless there is an obvious need for it, we don’t want to raise unnecessary alarm among the people,” he told reporters after attending a luncheon with Malaysian diplomats at the 7th Heads of Mission Conference at Putrajaya International Convention Centre. – Bernama
Close to 200 cases in Singapore SINGAPORE: Singapore yesterday confirmed another 26 new cases (169th to 194th) of Influenza A(H1N1), comprising 10 local cases and 16 cases with travel history. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 194. The Health Ministry last night said the Pandemic Preparedness Clinics (PPC) located island-wide were now gearing up to help manage and treat suspected patients. In CANBERRA, a second Australian diagnosed with H1N1 has died but the government said yesterday there was no evidence the outbreak was getting worse. – Agencies
KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/ THESUN
PETALING JAYA: Two more schools – Seri Cempaka International School in Batu 9 Cheras and SRK Assunta 1 in Petaling Jaya – were ordered to close yesterday because of the Influenza A(H1N1) infection. This brings the total number of schools closed to four. SRJK(C) Jalan Davidson was closed on Sunday, and SRK Assunta 2 was closed on Monday. Seri Cempaka had previously only stopped one class before receiving orders from the Health Ministry to close yesterday. Assunta 1 shares the same premises as Assunta 2. Assunta 1 holds classes in the morning, and Assunta 2 in the afternoon.
The flu situation in some schools may be worrying but Alimuddin manages to raise some laughter from students and staff of SMK Damansara Utama during his visit yesterday.
A(H1N1) ZA
TLINE
03
by Hemananthani Sivanandam
[email protected]
No plan to close all schools, says DPM
He said the virus is spread when an infected person coughs and the heavy droplets travel through the air up to 3m from the person. “So we could say that if you are more than 3m away from the infected person, you are more or less protected from the virus,” he told theSun in a telephone interview. On the recent cases involving local transmissions that resulted in the closure of four schools, Mohamed Rusli said local transmission will make it more difficult to detect the Influenza A (H1N1) cases before they spread . “The extreme way to contain it now would be to confine everyone within their own environment but we can’t do that, so the onus is really on the public,” he said.
Two more schools closed
by Husna Yusop KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 200,000 frontliners will be involved in tackling the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic under the National Influenza Preparedness Pandemic Plan 2006, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday. Replying to a question from Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) in the Dewan Rakyat, he said that since 2007, some 200,000 had been identified to be involved as frontliners and were given the seasonal flu vaccine every year. They comprised civil servants under the health and medical category, the police, Civil Defence Department, armed forces, Fire and Rescue Department, and Immigration Department. “Therefore, in early May this year, 200,000 doses of flu vaccine have been provided to all states to be injected to the frontliners. The seasonal flu vaccine contains components of Influenza A(H3N2), Influenza A(H1N1) and Influenza B,” he said. “This is because it is a mix of human, swine and bird flu viruses. The type of virus was determined by the World Health Organisation.”
will be put in place.” Once the patient is confirmed positive with the Influenza A(H1N1), he or she will be given anti-viral drugs. “The anti-virals would not kill the virus but it will help to reduce the volume of virus and severity of the flu and also shorten the duration of the illness,” Zainuddin said. Opalyn Mok reports from George Town: The chief of the Public Health Department of the School of Medicine at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Associate Prof Dr Mohamed Rusli Abdullah, said the Influenza A(H1N1) virus can only be spread through heavy droplets that travel not more than 3m from the infected person, so wearing masks will effectively protect someone from it.
HO
200,000 frontliners fighting pandemic, says Liow
who shows such symptoms is infected with the swine flu or seasonal flu is to determine travel history, whether the patient had contact with infected individuals or had contact with those who have travelled to countries affected by the A(H1N1) virus. He said the virus takes a few days to one week to develop in the body. “If those who are home quarantined show symptoms of A(H1N1) infection, they must be taken to hospital immediately. A sample of throat-swab will be taken from the individual to be tested in the lab before confirmation,” he said. “The patient will be placed in isolation and given symptomatic treatment while waiting for the lab result. Barrier nursing to prevent cross-contamination to medical staff
Three other schools – SMK Damansara from SRJK(C) Jalan Dav-8 881 00/3 Utama in Petaling Jaya, SMK Seksyen 9 Shah idson. He was admitted to 02 Alam, and SM Wangsa Maju Seksyen 2 in Kuala Sungai Buloh Hospital and Lumpur – have each stopped one class. tested positive on Monday. Health Director-General Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Ismail urged parents of the students Merican said in a statement a 16-year-old who have been placed under home quarantine student from Seri Cempaka started developing to ensure their children are at home and do not fever, coughs and sore throat on June 20. visit public places. He was tested positive for the virus on MonHe said family members of students quarday and became the eighth locallyantined at home may go on transmitted case. with their usual activities. Mohd Ismail said the student “However, family had come in contact with the members of those who » New cases: 42nd case, who is also a student are tested positive need to » Imported cases: at the school. be home quarantined as ( 5 Malaysians, 1 each from The ninth locally-transmitted ordered by the ministry,” Yemen, Italy and Switzerland) case is a 11-year-old boy who he said. came in contact with a student Mohd Ismail also » Local transmission: said students returning from the United States, the Philippines, London » Total no. of cases: and Melbourne should quarantine themselves for seven days. As at 9pm on Monday, the ministry received 99 notification cases from all over the country with 1,409 suspected A(H1N1) cases. Meena L. Ramadas reports: The closure of the Seri Cempaka Cheras campus will not affect lessons as the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) allows its students, teachers and parents to interact via the Internet. Cempaka chairman Datin Frieda Pilus said the school, which has about 1,300 students, will be closed from today to Monday. The closure does not affect the Bukit Damansara Seri Cempaka School. “There are no cases of the A(H1N1) flu in the Damansara school. But we are loading information concerning the flu precautions on the VLE,” she said. Frieda also said there is no general panic among the parents and students. “There are a few parents who are are worried but, generally, there is no panic,” she said.
00
[email protected]
INFLUEN
by Karen Arukesamy
10 8
2 68
Unwell children may skip class, D-G tells parents by Hemananthani Sivanandam [email protected]
PETALING JAYA: Children in the three partially-closed schools may stay away from class without having to produce medical certificates (MCs). Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said yesterday parents who feel their children are not well enough to attend school may inform the school authorities. Alimuddin, who was visiting SMK Damansara Utama, one of the three schools that have closed a class each, said this was done as a precautionary
measure to contain the spread of of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus. The other two schools are SMK Seksyen 9 Shah Alam and SM Wangsa Maju in Kuala Lumpur. The affected classes will be closed until the end of the week. Alimuddin said children from other schools who display symptoms of the flu may also be allowed to stay at home. “The parents should inform the schools if they feel their children are unwell but this is only for the next one or two weeks, until the situation is stabilised,” he said.
Asked why SMK Damansara Utama was not completely closed, Alimuddin said the schools can only be closed if there was local transmission of cases. The ministry has sent a circular to all schools asking them to monitor the condition of the students. “If any student displays the symptoms of the flu, then the school should send the student to hospital for further checks,” he said. Alimuddin urged the public not to panic and advised the people to maintain good personal hygiene. The parents of 64 students of
SMK Damansara Utama under home quarantine had been called to the school to be advised and counselled by medical officers from the Selangor Health Department. The school’s senior assistant 1, Zulaika A. Rahman, said they were required to fill up forms provided by department. Alimuddin said the measure was to guide and educate the parents further about the the A(H1N1) virus. He said the school had also disinfected the classroom of the 14year-old student tested positive for the virus last week.
3
| WEDNESDAY JUNE 24 2009
news without borders
Telling the difference between A(H1N1) and seasonal flu PETALING JAYA: If you are experiencing a case of the sniffles, how can you tell that it is not the flu borne by the A(H1N1) strain? theSun spoke to the Health Ministry’s Disease Control Division deputy director (Communicable Disease Surveillance), Dr Zainuddin Abdul Wahab, to explain the virus and the illness. First detected in Mexico, the virus is transmitted through air-droplets when infected people sneeze or cough, he said in a telephone interview yesterday. According to Zainuddin: the air-droplets can travel up to 1m in distance; the virus in the open environment
» »
survive from two to eight hours;
» the volume of virus in the air-drop-
let will be reduced within one or two hours in the open environment; the virus can only survive in a living cell; the infected patient normally takes about one week to recover, provided there is proper treatment. “It is a bit difficult to immediately tell the difference between the A(H1N1) virus and the seasonal flu strains because the symptoms are almost similar,” he said. The symptoms are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue and, in some cases, diarrhoea and vomiting. For now, Zainuddin said, the only way to identify whether the individual
» »
[email protected]
PUTRAJAYA: The government has no plan to close all schools or ban public gatherings in the Klang Valley although most of the A(H1N1) cases are reported in the area, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said yesterday. He said the government would apply the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols in containing the spread of the virus. “Unless there is an obvious need for it, we don’t want to raise unnecessary alarm among the people,” he told reporters after attending a luncheon with Malaysian diplomats at the 7th Heads of Mission Conference at Putrajaya International Convention Centre. – Bernama
Close to 200 cases in Singapore SINGAPORE: Singapore yesterday confirmed another 26 new cases (169th to 194th) of Influenza A(H1N1), comprising 10 local cases and 16 cases with travel history. This brings the total number of confirmed cases to 194. The Health Ministry last night said the Pandemic Preparedness Clinics (PPC) located island-wide were now gearing up to help manage and treat suspected patients. In CANBERRA, a second Australian diagnosed with H1N1 has died but the government said yesterday there was no evidence the outbreak was getting worse. – Agencies
KAMARIDUAN MOHD NOR/ THESUN
PETALING JAYA: Two more schools – Seri Cempaka International School in Batu 9 Cheras and SRK Assunta 1 in Petaling Jaya – were ordered to close yesterday because of the Influenza A(H1N1) infection. This brings the total number of schools closed to four. SRJK(C) Jalan Davidson was closed on Sunday, and SRK Assunta 2 was closed on Monday. Seri Cempaka had previously only stopped one class before receiving orders from the Health Ministry to close yesterday. Assunta 1 shares the same premises as Assunta 2. Assunta 1 holds classes in the morning, and Assunta 2 in the afternoon.
The flu situation in some schools may be worrying but Alimuddin manages to raise some laughter from students and staff of SMK Damansara Utama during his visit yesterday.
A(H1N1) ZA
TLINE
03
by Hemananthani Sivanandam
[email protected]
No plan to close all schools, says DPM
He said the virus is spread when an infected person coughs and the heavy droplets travel through the air up to 3m from the person. “So we could say that if you are more than 3m away from the infected person, you are more or less protected from the virus,” he told theSun in a telephone interview. On the recent cases involving local transmissions that resulted in the closure of four schools, Mohamed Rusli said local transmission will make it more difficult to detect the Influenza A (H1N1) cases before they spread . “The extreme way to contain it now would be to confine everyone within their own environment but we can’t do that, so the onus is really on the public,” he said.
Two more schools closed
by Husna Yusop KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 200,000 frontliners will be involved in tackling the Influenza A(H1N1) pandemic under the National Influenza Preparedness Pandemic Plan 2006, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday. Replying to a question from Liang Teck Meng (BN-Simpang Renggam) in the Dewan Rakyat, he said that since 2007, some 200,000 had been identified to be involved as frontliners and were given the seasonal flu vaccine every year. They comprised civil servants under the health and medical category, the police, Civil Defence Department, armed forces, Fire and Rescue Department, and Immigration Department. “Therefore, in early May this year, 200,000 doses of flu vaccine have been provided to all states to be injected to the frontliners. The seasonal flu vaccine contains components of Influenza A(H3N2), Influenza A(H1N1) and Influenza B,” he said. “This is because it is a mix of human, swine and bird flu viruses. The type of virus was determined by the World Health Organisation.”
will be put in place.” Once the patient is confirmed positive with the Influenza A(H1N1), he or she will be given anti-viral drugs. “The anti-virals would not kill the virus but it will help to reduce the volume of virus and severity of the flu and also shorten the duration of the illness,” Zainuddin said. Opalyn Mok reports from George Town: The chief of the Public Health Department of the School of Medicine at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Associate Prof Dr Mohamed Rusli Abdullah, said the Influenza A(H1N1) virus can only be spread through heavy droplets that travel not more than 3m from the infected person, so wearing masks will effectively protect someone from it.
HO
200,000 frontliners fighting pandemic, says Liow
who shows such symptoms is infected with the swine flu or seasonal flu is to determine travel history, whether the patient had contact with infected individuals or had contact with those who have travelled to countries affected by the A(H1N1) virus. He said the virus takes a few days to one week to develop in the body. “If those who are home quarantined show symptoms of A(H1N1) infection, they must be taken to hospital immediately. A sample of throat-swab will be taken from the individual to be tested in the lab before confirmation,” he said. “The patient will be placed in isolation and given symptomatic treatment while waiting for the lab result. Barrier nursing to prevent cross-contamination to medical staff
Three other schools – SMK Damansara from SRJK(C) Jalan Dav-8 881 00/3 Utama in Petaling Jaya, SMK Seksyen 9 Shah idson. He was admitted to 02 Alam, and SM Wangsa Maju Seksyen 2 in Kuala Sungai Buloh Hospital and Lumpur – have each stopped one class. tested positive on Monday. Health Director-General Dr Mohd Ismail Mohd Ismail urged parents of the students Merican said in a statement a 16-year-old who have been placed under home quarantine student from Seri Cempaka started developing to ensure their children are at home and do not fever, coughs and sore throat on June 20. visit public places. He was tested positive for the virus on MonHe said family members of students quarday and became the eighth locallyantined at home may go on transmitted case. with their usual activities. Mohd Ismail said the student “However, family had come in contact with the members of those who » New cases: 42nd case, who is also a student are tested positive need to » Imported cases: at the school. be home quarantined as ( 5 Malaysians, 1 each from The ninth locally-transmitted ordered by the ministry,” Yemen, Italy and Switzerland) case is a 11-year-old boy who he said. came in contact with a student Mohd Ismail also » Local transmission: said students returning from the United States, the Philippines, London » Total no. of cases: and Melbourne should quarantine themselves for seven days. As at 9pm on Monday, the ministry received 99 notification cases from all over the country with 1,409 suspected A(H1N1) cases. Meena L. Ramadas reports: The closure of the Seri Cempaka Cheras campus will not affect lessons as the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) allows its students, teachers and parents to interact via the Internet. Cempaka chairman Datin Frieda Pilus said the school, which has about 1,300 students, will be closed from today to Monday. The closure does not affect the Bukit Damansara Seri Cempaka School. “There are no cases of the A(H1N1) flu in the Damansara school. But we are loading information concerning the flu precautions on the VLE,” she said. Frieda also said there is no general panic among the parents and students. “There are a few parents who are are worried but, generally, there is no panic,” she said.
00
[email protected]
INFLUEN
by Karen Arukesamy
10 8
2 68
Unwell children may skip class, D-G tells parents by Hemananthani Sivanandam [email protected]
PETALING JAYA: Children in the three partially-closed schools may stay away from class without having to produce medical certificates (MCs). Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom said yesterday parents who feel their children are not well enough to attend school may inform the school authorities. Alimuddin, who was visiting SMK Damansara Utama, one of the three schools that have closed a class each, said this was done as a precautionary
measure to contain the spread of of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus. The other two schools are SMK Seksyen 9 Shah Alam and SM Wangsa Maju in Kuala Lumpur. The affected classes will be closed until the end of the week. Alimuddin said children from other schools who display symptoms of the flu may also be allowed to stay at home. “The parents should inform the schools if they feel their children are unwell but this is only for the next one or two weeks, until the situation is stabilised,” he said.
Asked why SMK Damansara Utama was not completely closed, Alimuddin said the schools can only be closed if there was local transmission of cases. The ministry has sent a circular to all schools asking them to monitor the condition of the students. “If any student displays the symptoms of the flu, then the school should send the student to hospital for further checks,” he said. Alimuddin urged the public not to panic and advised the people to maintain good personal hygiene. The parents of 64 students of
SMK Damansara Utama under home quarantine had been called to the school to be advised and counselled by medical officers from the Selangor Health Department. The school’s senior assistant 1, Zulaika A. Rahman, said they were required to fill up forms provided by department. Alimuddin said the measure was to guide and educate the parents further about the the A(H1N1) virus. He said the school had also disinfected the classroom of the 14year-old student tested positive for the virus last week.
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