Uprising Death H1N1 victims

H1N1: Death toll reaches 12

Annie Freeda Cruez

KUALA LUMPUR, Wed: As the number of deaths from influenza A (H1N1) in the country hits 12 and the number of infections continue to climb, the Health Ministry yesterday issued four new directives to combat the spread of the virus.

The latest case involves a 6-year-old boy who died at the Batu Pahat Hospital today at 2.30am.

Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said the virus infection was no longer in clusters, and spreading rapidly throughout the country.

He said this was ascertained from information taken from public and private hospitals, and clinics, which have all recorded high numbers of people seeking treatment for fever and cough.

The new directives issued are:

* those in the high-risk category (pregnant, obese, asthmatic, diabetic, low immunity and those with heart problems) and suffering from breathing difficulties, should seek medical treatment immediately at the nearest clinic or hospital. This is important as patients need to be treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu within 48 hours of showing symptoms. The treatment can start without laboratory results and Tamiflu is given free;
* after getting treatment, patients must be quarantine at home and lessen their contact and communication with the public, including family members. Patients must adhere to strict personal hygiene and cough etiquettes to avert the spread of the virus;
* patients who show mild symptoms of the disease must adhere to the advice of the doctor and quarantine themselves to prevent the spread of the virus to others. If they want to go out, they must wear a three-ply face mask; and,

* members of the public who know of cluster groups of people showing influenza-like illness in schools, institutions, workplaces and communities are to inform the nearest Health Department office; this will allow the department to to exercise control measures to stop or slow down the spread.

Malaysians can contact the ministry’s hotline 03-88... and 03-88810300 or go to its website http://www.moh.gov.my and http://h1n1.moh.gov.my on how to prevent being infected or what measures to adhere to when infected.

The websites also disclose the updates on the situation in the country.

Dr Ismail said there were 16 new confirmed cases reported within the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,476.

Coming in the wake of the death of a 3-year-old girl in Malacca on Monday, which was confirmed to be H1N1-related, the following day, a 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man also died of H1N1-related causes. Both were also from Malacca.

The boy, a kidney failure victim on haemodialysis, was admitted to hospital, on the same day he died, with fever, cough and breathing difficulties which he had had since Saturday.

The youth, a chronic asthma sufferer, was admitted on Sunday after complaining of fever, cough and breathing difficulties, which started on Friday.

“The youth was placed into the intensive care unit when doctors found him having severe pneumonia,” said Dr Ismail.

He said all the cases reported of late were local transmissions and this was worrying.

Among the 1,476 cases reported, 1,413 have recovered; while 10 are in ICU; and 28 receiving treatment in isolation wards.

Dr Ismail said among the 10 in ICU was a person who was obese, a pregnant woman and a person with low immunity.

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