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Friday, July 2, 2010

Malaysia : Too little done to prevent spread of H1N1

Via The Star, an interesting opinion letter written to The Star by a doctor who claims that H1N1 is an ongoing epidemic in a private hospital in the Klang Valley area which consists mainly of Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya and its surrounding area :

" I want to urgently bring to the attention of the public that the H1N1 virus threat is not over yet and still thriving in some areas.

There is an epidemic in a private hospital in the Klang Valley right now, with several patients getting the infection after being admitted into the hospital and even two deaths, including a woman who after a normal delivery in the hospital caught the virus in the hospital.

Half of the staff and nurses tested positive for the virus and were given treatment and some were admitted. The only action taken by the hospital was to ask all staff members to wear masks.

What about the patients and visitors entering and staying there? Why has there been no testing or warning to the patients and visitors entering the hospital?

Enquiries to the Health Department and the hospital drew a blank, citing the Official Secret Act – no information to be given to the public.

There is a big cover-up. When previously there were cases and deaths in schools and institutions, there were public announcements and naming of the schools and institutions and their closure.

Is this the way to control the H1N1 infection from spreading? What is the standard protocol to control the spread of the virus to the public?

It is very irresponsible of the hospital and the public health department to cover up the epidemic in the hospital.

There must be an enquiry and action taken to immediately close the hospital and steps taken to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus."

If it's true what the doctor claims, it means the Ministry of Health in Malaysia is indeed hiding the "truth" from the public. More information is needed on this.

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