Follow Health Advisory When Travelling To MERS-CoV Infected Countries - Health Dept D-G

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), July 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysians visiting MERS-CoV infected countries must follow the health advisory provided and avoid visiting animal farms, especially camel farms. Health Department director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah in a statement Thursday said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had not issued a ban on travels to countries affected by MERS-CoV including South Korea, thus far. "They should avoid drinking camel urine or milk and raw camel meat as WHO has yet to identify the actual cause and means of infection. There is also no vaccine to offer protection or a specific medicine for the disease," he said. He said WHO reported that 1,357 cases had been confirmed as MERS-CoV, including 485 deaths, in all infected countries, as of June 27. Dr Noor Hisham said the Health Ministry would continue to upgrade preparatory measures and responses to face the potential outbreak of MERS-CoV in Malaysia at every stage of the health facility. He said all international entry points had been reminded to distribute the Health Alert Card to visitors arriving from MERS-CoV affected countries like the Middle East and South Korea. Medical practitioners must also stress on the travel history of the patient so that suspected MERS-CoV cases (PUI MERS-CoV) would be given appropriate attention for purpose of isolation, he said. Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry via the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre would continue to monitor the development of the disease and make announcements from time to time. -- BERNAMA