Influenza A (H1N1) Take care or pay the price

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Re: Influenza A (H1N1) Take care or pay the price

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Influenza A(H1N1): Take care or pay the price
Contributed by admin
Monday, 17 August 2009 10:20
(NST) Anyone with symptoms who ignores the Health Ministry's advice and spreads H1N1 faces RM10,000 fine or two
years' jail.
KUALA LUMPUR: Those found to have wilfully spread influenza A (H1N1), which has so far claimed 62 lives including
three yesterday, face a fine of up to RM10,000 or up to two years in jail.
The government has decided to enforce Section 12(1) of the Disease Control Act in another effort to contain the rapid
pread of the disease, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday.
Court action will be taken against people who have influenzalike
illness symptoms but defy the ministry's call to seek
treatment, isolate themselves or wear masks.
Speaking after opening the Lifelong Health Carnival for the Serdang area, Liow said: "The Ministry of Health takes this
very seriously. We want everybody to abide by our call to help stop the spread of H1N1.
"We've to work together to stop the spread. I'm appealing to the public to adhere to our call for those who are ill, having
flu, fever and cough to please wear masks and isolate themselves to stop the spread to the public."
He said people who have symptoms of influenza-like illness could also get seven days' medical leave to quarantine
themselves.
Liow said two of the three deaths recorded yesterday were due to delayed treatment with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu,
adding that the ministry would investigate the cause of the delay.
The Health Ministry has also set up a special focus group to
study the mutation of the virus and analyse the cause of death of every victim.
"This is to determine that the cause of death of every victim is confirmed as H1N1 and not any other virus."
Liow said the focus group was monitoring the H1N1 virus closely and so far, it had reported that most of the present
deaths were caused by H1N1.
Asked about complaints by private hospitals facing problems stocking enough Tamiflu, Liow said he would be meeting
with the suppliers of the drug soon to try and reduce its price and to ensure it was available to everybody.
Liow said 200,000 seasonal flu vaccines had been given to frontline medical staff to safeguard them.
Asked about the commercial sector taking advantage of H1N1 in their advertisements, Liow said his ministry would check
on such advertisements to prevent them from misleading the public to make profits.

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Re: Influenza A (H1N1) Take care or pay the price

Liow said two of the three deaths recorded yesterday were due to delayed treatment with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu,
adding that the ministry would investigate the cause of the delay.
The Health Ministry has also set up a special focus group to
study the mutation of the virus and analyse the cause of death of every victim.

"This is to determine that the cause of death of every victim is confirmed as H1N1 and not any other virus."
Liow said the focus group was monitoring the H1N1 virus closely and so far, it had reported that most of the present
deaths were caused by H1N1.

I'll have to look into this more closely. I do not see mention of underlying conditions.

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Re: Influenza A (H1N1) Take care or pay the price

A(H1N1): National health emergency declared
Himanshu Bhatt

SEBERANG PERAI (Aug 17, 2009): The federal government has declared a health emergency in Malaysia due to the A(H1N1) outbreak which has so far taken 64 lives, and a health curfew similar to the week-long shutdown of non-essential services and industries in Mexico has not been discounted.


Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai however said any curfew can only be considered if the virus mortality rate of those infected breach 0.4%, and even then, it has to be decided by the National Security Council.

However, he said the character of the virus remained unchanged for now as it is still attacking the high-risk group.

Mexico, which was the first and hardest hit by the A(H1N1) pandemic had ordered a shutdown of businesses and public places, including dancing halls, bars, sports centre, arts centres, cinemas and parks, for a week from May 1 to contain the spread. Restaurants were allowed to open, but only serve take-away food.

"We are discussing in-depth the health curfew move that was taken in Mexico," said Liow, adding that the Health Ministry was monitoring the infection and mortality cases and the proliferation of the disease daily.

For now, the government wants the public to do their part to contain the outbreak by wearing masks if they have influenza-like illnesses (ILI) and to practice self-quarantine.

Those having ILI symptoms and found not wearing the mask in public can be charged under Section 12(1) the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988, which carries a compound fine of RM10,000 or two-year jail term, Liow said.

In line with the declaration of health emergency, the Domestic Trade, Co-operatives And Consumerism Ministry will fix the ceiling prices for various types of masks and an announcement will be made soon.


Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was wearing a face-mask at the Permatang Pasir state by-election nomination centre today, said the face mask can be listed as a controlled item under the Price Control Act on grounds of necessity and health for about a year.

He said this after Liow, who was also present, reported to him that the masks were being sold for as much as RM5 each by unscrupulous traders.

To date, the country has registered a total of 4,225 cases of people infected with A(H1N1) virus, most of whom have already been treated.

There have been 64 deaths, including a 7-month old boy who died on Aug 15 and a 74-year old woman who succumbed on Aug 12, he added.

Later, speaking to reporters after launching the Asia Healthcare 2009 Conference, Liow said the ministry has directed all private and government doctors to prescribe anti-viral drugs for patients who suffer from fever longer than two days and influenza-like illness with co-morbid condition.

He said this is because late anti-viral treatment was one of the reasons for a number of deaths and the ministry did not want patients to wait for test results before receiving the treatment.

Liow also disclosed that the government healthcare sector is facing a serious shortage of manpower.

He said as of June 30, there were 240,236 vacancies for doctors approved by the Public Services Department but only 13,902 (57.4%) positions were filled; 2,549 for dentists but only 1,442 (66.6%) filled; 4,030 for pharmacists but 2,086 (47.1%) filled; and 44,897 for staff nurses but 39,263 filled.

http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=37019