ID :
61199
Tue, 05/19/2009 - 10:28
Auther :

MALAYSIA CAN BE DECLARED FREE OF LOCAL H1N1 TRANSMISSION WEDNESDAY




PUTRAJAYA, May 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia can be declared free of local
transmission of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus in two days if there are no local
cases detected during the period, Deputy Health Director-General Dr Ramlee
Rahmat said.

He said the calculation was based on the virus' incubation period, which is
seven days from the day the first case was detected on May 13.

"So far there are no signs of the virus spreading locally," he said, adding
that the two cases detected so far involved people returning from overseas.

"After May 20, we can declare that Malaysia is free of local transmission of
the virus," he told reporters, here Monday.

Dr Ramlee said the country, however, could not declare yet that it was free
of the virus because infection could still occur on people returning to the
country from overseas.

Dr Ramlee said a total of 111 people had been admitted to isolation wards in
hospitals but all were tested negative, except in two cases involving a male
student and his friend who were returning from overseas on Malaysia Airlines
flight MH091 last Wednesday.

Three passengers who were on the same flight, who were admitted to isolation
wards in Johor Baharu and Kuching after they developed fever, also tested
negative for the virus, he said.

On the two patients who contracted the virus, Dr Ramlee said they were
recovering well and that their families, who were under quarantine, were also
healthy.

The first one is recovering in the Sungai Buloh Hospital and x-ray tests
showed a normal result while the second one, who is undergoing treatment in the
Penang Hospital, has recovered from the fever, he said.

Asked on when they could be discharged, Dr Ramlee said, it could take up to
six days from the day they were admitted to hospital, depending on their
conditions.

Dr Ramlee said the authorities were still tracing 17 passengers of flight
MH091.

On the AirAsia flight AK5358, he said the ministry managed to trace 33
passengers and four flight crew and was still tracing 69 others.

A woman, who is one of the two patients confirmed to have contracted the
H1N1 virus, had boarded the flight from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal to
northern Penang state.

Dr Ramlee urged the passengers involved to contact the ministry at telephone
number 03-8881 0200 or 8881 0300.

He said that as of this morning, the World Health Organisation confirmed
Ecuador to be the latest country affected by the epidemic, rising the number of
countries affected by the problem to 39.

There are 8,735 cases detected worldwide with 74 deaths.

Asked on an AirAsia passenger who fainted during the flight from Sandakan to
Kuala Lumpur, Dr Ramlee said it had nothing to do with the Influenza A (H1N1)
virus.
-- BERNAMA

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