Sunday, June 28, 2009

RP among 4 foreign 'hotspots' for Malaysian students

06/27/2009 | 10:11 AM

(Update) MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines was among four foreign destinations tagged as virtual A(H1N1) hotspots for Malaysian students who traveled abroad recently.

A report on the Malaysian news site The Star Online quoted the Malaysian Ministry of Health as saying students returning for holidays from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and the Philippines must quarantine themselves at home for seven days.

Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr. Ismail Merican said most imported cases of the Influenza A (H1N1) reported in the country involved people who returned from these countries.

“We urge them to do so and if they develop flu-like symptoms, they must seek treatment immediately," he was quoted saying in a press conference last Tuesday.

A Malaysian A(H1N1) situationer posted on Wikipedia showed that of 112 confirmed cases as of Saturday, 96 were imported transmissions and 16 were local transmissions.

School authorities have been told to monitor students and staff members for symptoms of influenza A(H1N1) such as fever and flu to avoid locally transmitted cases, said the report.

Like in the Philippines, the US, Mexico and other countries affected by the flu, Malaysia also has closed a number of schools after students were found infected with A(H1N1) virus.

A Health Ministry statement on June 25 also enjoined all employers to allow seven days’ unrecorded leave for staff placed under quarantine for A(H1N1) or going into self-quarantine after visiting Australia, Mexico, the Philippines or the United States, said the Wikipedia report.

“Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the ministry had prepared documents for those placed under home quarantine or volunteering for self-quarantine so employers could identify genuine cases," it added.

The Malaysian MOH’s advisory was also mentioned in an update on the website of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), citing a report by the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

The number of A(H1N1) cases traced to the Philippines had been rising in the past weeks, including at least 10 in Saudi Arabia, four in Hong Kong and three in Singapore.

The Philippine’s A(H1N1) tally as of Friday was 861, but Health Secretary Franciso Duque III said at 634 patients had fully recovered, or 74 percent of the total number of confirmed cases since May 21.

As of June 24, the World Health Organization reported 55,867 swine flu cases with 238 deaths from 102 reporting countries. - GMANews.TV

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

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