SOUTHERN STATE SET UP COMMITTEE TO COUNTER INFLUENZA A H1N1 OUTBREAK

SHAH ALAM (Malaysia), June 22 (Bernama) -- Selangor government has
instructed all district offices to set up action committees as a precautionary
measure to counter any A(H1N1) outbreak in the state, said State Executive
Councillor for Health, Estate Workers, Poverty and Caring Government, Dr A.
Xavier Jayakumar Monday.

He said the committee, chaired by the respective district officers, had
been briefed by state health department officials on the necessary precautions
to be taken in the event of an outbreak.

"The main task of the committee will be to take all the necessary steps to
curb the spread of the (influenza A) H1N1 virus. The committee will rope in
health officers and local authorities to give proper coverage in their
respective areas in case of an outbreak," Xavier told reporters after attending
a Selangor government departments' monthly assembly, here Monday.

Selangor is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by
Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the
Strait of Malacca to the west. It completely surrounds the federal territories
of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.



So far, three confirmed A(H1N1) cases involving school students were
reported in Selangor with the latest being a 14-year-old student of Sekolah
Menengah Kebangsaan Damansara Utama.

The Form Two student is actually the brother of a Year Five pupil of Sekolah
Kebangsaan Assunta (2) (primary school) in Petaling Jaya, who was confirmed an
H1N1 victim yesterday together with a Form Four student of Sekolah Menengah
Section 9, Shah Alam (secondary schools).


Xavier said the three affected students are now under quarantine at hospital
and their classmates have been ordered to be home quarantined.

"If these students are to take school buses or use car pool to go to
school,
then the students in the bus and car will also be asked to undergo
self-quarantine in their respective homes for the next seven days," he said
adding the Selangor government has no plans to close any of the affected schools
at the moment.

He said the state government will not make it compulsory for affected
schools to conduct screening on students.

"We have no plans to conduct filtering exercise towards students before
entering the affected schools. I think the self-quarantine will be the best way
to control the infectious disease (H1N1)," he said adding most of the A(H1N1)
victims will be quarantined at the Sungai Buloh Hospital and Tengku Ampuan
Rahimah Hospital in Klang.

--BERNAMA