Malaysia: HFMD Cases

[Shiloh]

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/2/nation/20080502180227&sec=nation

Friday May 2, 2008 MYT 6:06:33 PM
Practise good hygiene to keep foot and mouth disease at bay
By SHARON LING

KUCHING: Sarawak is stepping up prevention and control measures for hand foot and mouth disease (HFMD) following recent outbreaks in Singapore and China.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the state health department's routine HFMD surveillance showed that 1,729 cases of the disease had been reported as of April 26 this year, including three small, localised outbreaks.

The first occurred at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on March 10-25 involving 48 adults, the second in Kampung Pichin, Serian (April 4-22) involving 24 children and the last at Al Hidayah Abim Nursery in Sarikei (April 9-24) involving 10 children.

Dr Chan said none of the cases involved Enterovirus 71 (EV71), which potentially causes a more severe form of the disease.

"The outbreaks were mild and no one was hospitalised. All the outbreaks have now been controlled.

"However, because of the increased number of cases in Singapore including a few with EV71, and also in Anhui, China, where there have been 20 deaths, this is a good time to warn the public, especially those looking after young children, to make sure they follow hygienic practices," he told a press conference at his office here on Friday.

He said parents with young children and operators of childcare centres should take preventive measures such as practising good hygiene at all times.

He also advised childcare centre operators to make sure their premises were clean and to screen children for symptoms of HFMD.

In addition, parents of young children should take the necessary precautions, such as washing their hands before eating and after going to the toilet, covering their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing and ensuring cleanliness in their homes, including their children's toys.

Sarawak last experienced a major outbreak of HFMD in 2006, when more than 14,000 cases and 13 deaths were reported

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=330428

May 02, 2008 21:17 PM

Sarawak Has No Plans To Screen Visitors From Singapore, China

KUCHING, May 2 (Bernama) -- The Sarawak government has no plans to screen visitors from Singapore and China for the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) at the moment in the wake of an outbreak of the disease in the two countries, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said Friday.

He said there was no real need to impose such a precautionary measure as HFMD was endemic in Sarawak, which reported 1,727 cases up to April 26 this year, with three small, localised outbreaks occurring at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) in Kota Samarahan (48 adults), Kampung Pichin in Serian (24 children) and Al Hidayah Abim nursery in Sarikei (10 children).

The state was worst affected by the outbreak in 2006, when 14,521 cases were detected cases, including 13 deaths.

"However, with the travel advisory given by the World Health Organisation based on the advice of various experts, parents are advised against bringing their children to visit the two Asian countries or any crowded and public places," Dr Chan who is also State Disaster and Relief Management Committee chairman told a news conference at his office in Petra Jaya here.

According to the press release by the Singapore Health Ministry, he said, there were 9,026 notified HFMD cases, including 1.4 percent requiring hospitalisation due to poor feeding up to April 26, while 20 reported deaths among children were reported in Anhui province in Eastern China. Dr Chan said the State Health department had intensified the monitoring of HFMD, which was under control at present, by asking the districts to step up prevention and control measures, such as giving advice and health education to the operators of child care centres.

So far all outbreaks were mild and needed no hospitalisation, he said.

He said state authorities, including the State Veterinary Department, were also keeping surveillance to curb the spread of the avian flu, especially from neighbouring countries sharing common borders with Sarawak.

Sarawak had not detected any case from the across the border, including from the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan, he said.

Under the existing laws, it is an offence to smuggle chickens and chicken parts from Kalimantan into the state.

-- BERNAMA

 

[Giuseppe]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=330428

May 02, 2008 21:17 PM

Sarawak Has No Plans To Screen Visitors From Singapore, China

(...)
"However, with the travel advisory given by the World Health Organisation based on the advice of various experts, parents are advised against bringing their children to visit the two Asian countries or any crowded and public places," Dr Chan who is also State Disaster and Relief Management Committee chairman told a news conference at his office in Petra Jaya here.
(...)

NOT.

From today WHO HFMD China update:
(...)
? It is not necessary to restrict travel or trade.

LINK: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2008_05_01/en/index.html

FT POST: http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=153287&postcount=80
-----

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

The link from post 2 no longer works. Maybe the story was pulled? WHO is not recommending restricting travel or trade.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/5/5/southneast/21141015&sec=southneast

Monday May 5, 2008
Steps against HFMD
By SHARON LING

KUCHING: Sarawak is stepping up prevention and control measures on Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) following recent outbreaks in Singapore and China.

Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan said the state Health Department?s routine HFMD surveillance showed that 1,729 cases of the disease had been reported as of April 26 this year, including three small, localised outbreaks.

The first outbreak occurred at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) on March 10 to 25 and involved 48 adults, the second in Kampung Pichin, Serian (April 4 to 22) involved 24 children and the last at Al Hidayah Abim Nursery in Sarikei (April 9 to 24) involved 10 children.

Dr Chan said that none of the cases involved enterovirus 71 (EV71), which potentially causes a more severe form of the disease.

?The outbreaks were mild and no one was hospitalised. All the outbreaks have now been controlled.

?However, because of the increased number of cases in Singapore, including a few with EV71, and also in Anhui, China, where there were 20 deaths, this is a good time to warn the public, especially those looking after young children, to make sure they follow hygienic practices,? he told a press conference at his office on Friday.

He said that parents with young children and operators of childcare centres should take preventive measures such as practising good hygiene at all times.

He advised childcare centre operators to make sure their premises were clean and to screen children for symptoms of HFMD.

In addition, parents of young children should take the necessary precautions, such as washing their hands before eating and after going to the toilet, covering mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing and ensuring cleanliness in their homes and of children?s toys.

Sarawak last experienced a major outbreak of HFMD in 2006, when more than 14,000 cases and 13 deaths were reported.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/2366719/Article/index_html

Death of boy sparks HFMD fear

KUCHING: The death of a 4-year-old boy in Sibu on Thursday from suspected hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has sparked fears of a new outbreak of the disease.

HFMD, a common acute viral illness that primarily affects infants and young children, killed 39 children in Sarawak during an outbreak in 1997.

The state's deputy director of the Health Department, Raja Lope Ahmad Raja Ariffin, confirmed that the pre-schooler had "clinical symptoms of HFMD".

"There were rashes on the boy's hands and feet, ulcers in his mouth, loss of appetite and high fever.

"However, it could not be ascertained if he had died of HFMD until tests of samples taken from him are completed," he said yesterday.
The tests were done at the Unimas medical laboratory and Raja Lope said the results should be known in a week's time.

A local newspaper reported the boy fell ill on Sept 29 but was only brought to Sibu general hospital on Oct 1 in an "extremely weak" condition with high fever. He died at 4.50pm in the intensive care unit the next day.

Bukit Assek assemblyman Wong Ho Leng, in a news conference on Friday, called on the Health Department to be transparent about the death.

The DAP representative claimed that there was an attempt to cover up the cause of the death by the department.

Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh dismissed the claim and said they were waiting for result of the tests.

The department had reportedly sanitised the boy's home as his 6-year-old sister was also suffering from the same symptoms.

HFMD is an endemic disease. A total of 6,571 cases have been reported at clinics and hospitals throughout the state this year.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/8/nation/20081008185146&sec=nation

Wednesday October 8, 2008 MYT 6:53:44 PM
Perak may have recorded first HFMD death

IPOH: The Perak Health Department is investigating the death of a seven-year-old boy from Taiping, which may be the state?s first recorded death from the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

State Health, Environment and Human Resource Committee chairman A. Sivanesan said a report from the department yesterday stated that samples from the boy's blood and brain fluids had been sent to the Makmal Institute Medical Research on Tuesday for confirmation.

Sivanesan said the child, Toh Guan Hee, from Taman Assamara, had started suffering from fever and rashes on his hands, feet and mouth since last Friday.

Sivanesan said that the boy?s symptoms were similar to a HFMD patient and if it was proved to be so, it would be the first such death recorded in the history of Perak, he said.

Toh first received treatment from a private clinic and then was later moved to a private hospital.

When he did not recover, he was sent to Hospital Taiping on Monday for further treatment, he told reporters at a press conference here yesterday.

Sivanesan said that despite repeated treatments, the boy?s condition continued to worsen and he died at 11.29pm, the same day he was admitted at the hospital.

He added that another 11-month-old girl from Taiping had been admitted into Hospital Taiping yesterday, also for a suspected case of HFMD.

?In Perak, since January to Oct 4, we have seen a total of 258 confirmed HFMD cases in nine districts,? he said.

Sivanesan, however, said that the statistics did not constitute an outbreak of the HFMD or the coxsackie virus in the state.

On the dengue situation in Perak, Sivanesan said that a 16% drop had been recorded over the past week with 118 reported cases two weeks ago and 99 cases last week.

He urged each constituency?s MP or state assemblymen to go down to the ground and conduct their own fogging of suspected aedes mosquito hotspots in their areas.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/8/nation/20081008161714&sec=nation

Hand, foot and mouth disease shuts down Miri kindergarten

MIRI: A Miri kindergarten in the Tudan residential area along the Miri-Brunei highway, was advised to shut down for the next two weeks by the State Health and Medical Services Department after three cases of hand, foot and mouth disease was detected at the centre.

?They voluntarily agreed to send all their pupils home. We are now helping them to carry out a health sweep of the premise to contain the outbreak,? Miri Health director Dr Chin Zin Hing said on Wednesday

?We have also issued similar advisories to other kindergartens to shut down if the need arises. It is better to be take early precautions,? he said.

This is the first pre-school centre in the state to shut down temporarily following the sharp rise in HFMD infections statewide. Dr Chin said his department would keep a close watch on all pre-schools in an effort to ensure that the outbreak did not spread.

In the meantime, nurseries and kindergartens have also placed their staffs and pupils on the high alert for HFMD following the death of a four-year-old boy in Sibu from a suspected infection.

Parents were advised not to send their kids to these centres if their children show any signs of illnesses, especially high fever and immediately take them immediately to a hospital or clinic.

The HFMD has become a yearly occurrence in Sarawak. However, the main fear is caused by the Enterovirus 71 strain of the HFMD that can be fatal.

Last year, 13 children died from the EV71 infection while thousands of others were infected statewide.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=366741&cat=sre

October 23, 2008 16:01 PM

HFMD: Two Kindergartens Closed For Two Weeks As Precaution

MIRI, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Two kindergartens here will close for two weeks starting tomorrow after some of the children there were suspected of being infected with hand, foot and mouth Disease (HFMD).

Parents who send their children to the two kindergartens told Bernama that they received a notice of the temporary closure today stating that the kindergartens were advised to do so by the Health Department.

The notice also urged parents to avoid taking their children to public places and to take them to the hospital if they develope rashes on their hands and feet or have ulcers in their mouth.

With this latest closure, five kindergartens here have been temporarily closed since Oct 8 due to the HFMD concern.

However, no kindergarten in Bintulu and Limbang, Miri's two neigbouring divisions in northern Sarawak, had taken such action.

Last week, Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan called on the public to be on high alert for the HFMD to prevent a major outbreak.

Dr Chan, who is also state Disaster and Relief Management Committee chairman, said Sarawak was stepping up prevention and control of HFMD following the detection of the deadly Enterovirus 71 (EV71) in the middle of the year.

A four year-old boy who died on Oct 14 in Sibu, about 500km south of here, was suspected of suffering from HFMD, sparking fear of a new outbreak.

-- BERNAMA

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/NewsBreak/20081023133709/Article/index_html
2008/10/23
HFMD outbreak in Sarawak now under control
Bernama
SIBU, Thu.:

The hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) outbreak which started in the state early this month is now under control.
State Minister of Environment and Public Health Datuk Sri Wong Soon Koh said today that it was no longer a cause for alarm because all the preventive measures had been successfully carried out.

A total of 6,814 cases of children being affected with the diseases had been reported, he said when launching the Global Handwashing Campaign jointly organised by LifeBuoy of the Unilever Malaysia company and the See Hua Group here.

Among others, Kuching accounted for the most with 2,480 cases, followed by Miri with 1,072, Bintulu (884), Sibu (758) and Kota Samarahan (425).

During the outbreak, 848 children were hospitalised but all had been discharged except for 25 who were still under observation, he said, adding that there was only one confirmed fatality.

Meanwhile, Unilever Malaysia general sales manager for East Malaysia Rodney Wong said his company was targeting at least 50,000 children for the campaign nationwide.

He said Sibu was chosen as the first destination for the month-long campaign after its Kuala Lumpur launch on Oct 15 because of the HFMD outbreak here.

?We want to educate the society that good hygiene starts with washing hands with soap. Good hygiene can reduce the transmission and consequences of diseases, especially to young children,? he said.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Malaysia: HFMD Cases

Source: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=370027

November 07, 2008 16:56 PM

Major HFMD Outbreak To Hit Sarawak Next Year

KUCHING, Nov 7 (Bernama) -- Sarawak is bracing for the possibility of a major outbreak of the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) next year, state Environment and Public Health Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh said today.

He said that based on the cycle of the HFMD outbreak which happened every three years in Sarawak, another outbreak might occur again next year.

"Monitoring and surveillance for HFMD is on-going and will be intensified in anticipation of a major outbreak in 2009," he said in reply to Chiew Chiu Sing (DAP-Kidurong) in the state assembly.

In addition, Wong said, the Sarawak Health Department had intensified visits to child-care centres and kindergartens in the state to raise awareness of HFMD and the measures to control it.

The sentinel surveillance programme conducted by the Sarawak Health Department and Institute of Health and Community Medicine, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), had found an outbreak of HFMD every three years in Sarawak -- 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2006.

The HFMD outbreak in 1997 was found to be due to EV71, which killed about 30 children below five years old in Sarawak. That was the first recognition of EV71 in Malaysia.

As for this year, Wong said that from December 30 last year to Oct 18 this year 6,666 cases were reported compared with 6,332 for the corresponding period last year.

"Kuching recorded the highest number of cases with a total of 2,417 cases, followed by Miri (1,027), Bintulu(828) and Sibu (761)," he said, adding that so far one death had been reported ib Sibu.

As of Oct 24, a total of 52 kindergarten, child-care centres and pre-schools had either been served with a closure order or had voluntarily closed.

Wong advised parents and child carers to practise good hygiene and observe cleanliness at all times to prevent the spread of the disease.