Malaysia : Tourists screened at KK airport following first case of avian flu

Via The Star, excerpt :

" Health officials were screening all foreign arrivals at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport on Friday as part of preventive measures following the first case of A(H7N9) virus infection in Sabah.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Masidi Manjun urged the public not to panic, as the H7N9 is not transmittable from humans.

“Health Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said earlier that the possibility of a human-to-human transmission of the H7N9 virus is remote,” he told The Star.

Masidi said humans would only get this virus from birds including chickens.

“In this case, the source is in China, not from the Chinese visitor who was in Sandakan before coming to Kota Kinabalu,” he said, adding that people should be more worried about going to China.

The 67-year-old woman infected by the avian flu had reportedly complained of fever, cough, body aches and fatigue four days before her arrival in Kuala Lumpur from Guangdong on Feb 3."

Malaysia : Govt urged to install screening machines at airports

Article via The Borneo Post :

" Moyog assemblyman Terrence Siambun has proposed that the government installed screening machines at all entry points to the state, especially at airports.

The proposal was made following the detection of a Chinese woman having the Avian

Influenza A (H7N9) virus when she and a group of Chinese tourists were visiting Sabah.

“Although the Health Ministry has assured that this type of bird flu can only spread to humans

from infected poultry and the possibility of human to human infection is very rare, we should be 

more careful. I believe prevention if better than cure.

“It is important to increase the security system, especially at the airport to avoid any unwanted

threats such as the H7N9 to enter the country,” Siambun said yesterday.

He said the screening machines at the airport should be permanent, not only when the tourists 

had entered the country."

Malaysia : Sabah’s livestock, poultry free from H7N9

Article via The Star :

" Livestock and poultry in Sabah are free from the A(H7N9) virus infection, according to Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Yahya Hussin.

The Agriculture and Food Industry minister said the avian flu case involving a tourist from China here showed that the infection did not originate from Sabah.

"The public need not panic or worry. The ministry through the Veterinary Services and Animal Industry department has been and will constantly be monitoring and conducting inspections on livestock, poultry and pig farms, bird shops/sanctuaries and other animal breeding premises, that are highly susceptible to the bird influenza virus and other viruses which have stricken some countries in the region," he said in a statement here Thursday.

Yahya further advised the people as well as visitors to Sabah to observe preventive measures and regulations imposed by the department, particularly the restriction and prohibition on entry of livestock or poultry into the country from the affected countries."

Malaysia : Tests confirm Chinese tourist in Sabah infected with the avian flu

A little more information from The Star on Malaysia's first H7N9 case :

" The first Influenza A (H7N9) case in the country has been detected in a Chinese national.

The 67-year-old woman infected by the avian flu had reportedly complained of fever, cough, body aches and fatigue four days before her arrival in Kuala Lumpur from Guangdong on Feb 3.

She took off to Sandakan, Sabah, the next day before moving on to Kota Kinabalu on Feb 6.

“The woman was referred to a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu on Feb 7 and (after two screenings) on Feb 11, the sample showed positive results for H7N9,” Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said at a press conference here yesterday.

He added that the woman was in stable condition.

Dr Subramaniam said there was no cause for panic as the risk for human transmission of H7N9 was “very low”.

Screenings conducted on 20 people who had close contact with the Chinese woman in her tour group and at a holiday resort showed they were in good health, he said.

To date, 330 cases of H7N9 have been reported among humans in China, with 65 deaths.

The World Health Organisation has not issued any travel advisory against visits to China. There is currently no vaccinations available to prevent the H7N9 virus.

Nevertheless, Dr Subramaniam urged those travelling to China to take precautionary measures by avoiding contact with poultry there, including at farms and markets.

“We advise Malaysians to continuously maintain good hygiene practices, such as frequent sanitising or washing of hands,” Dr Subramaniam said.

He further advised the public to immediately seek medical attention if they have influenza-like symptoms, especially after coming into contact with live poultry.

In Sandakan, it is learnt that the tourist had felt ill when she first arrived in Kuala Lumpur but continued her journey to Sabah and then checked into a hotel in Tuaran, about 30km from here, on Feb 7.

She requested medical treatment and was taken to the district hospital where it was believed she was initially tested for the virus.

Upon a request she was transferred to a private medical centre in Kota Kinabalu, where a second test confirmed she was infected with Influenza A virus.

Sabah Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi could not be reached for comment."