Malaysian Pilgrim Died Of Lung Disease, Not MERS-CoV - Health DG

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), June 16 (Bernama) -- Tests have proven that a Malaysian who died while flying back from Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) had suffered from obstructive lung disease and not MERS-CoV, said Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah. The individual was admitted to hospital for cough and breathing difficulty while performing the 'umrah' (minor haj), he said. The 78-year-old patient was treated for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD) with lung fibrosis and was allowed to return to Malaysia accompanied by a child and a nurse, he said in a statement. The individual died on June 11 on the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur and the body was taken to the Serdang Hospital, he said. Dr Noor Hisham also said that a woman who allegedly ran away from the Miri Hospital in east Malaysian state, Sarawak last Friday was undergoing treatment at the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital in Brunei Darussalam for a lung infection and not MERS-CoV. He also said that the National Crisis Preparedness Response Centre had received 805 notifications of suspected Patient Under Investigation (PUI) for MERS-CoV cases since January 2013. Of these, 804 notifications were confirmed free of MERS-CoV, while one was confirmed positive, in April 2014. "The ministry will constantly step up its preparedness and response to check the disease," he said. --BERNAMA