BY LOH FOON FONG
PUTRAJAYA: Those intending to visit India, especially children and the elderly, are advised to get the latest seasonal influenza vaccine.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said those with chronic diseases involving the lungs, heart, kidneys as well as those with compromised immune systems should also get the vaccine before visiting India.
The vaccine is available at private health facilities.
“Likewise, those with symptoms such as fever, runny nose, sore throat and cough are advised to seek treatment,” Dr Noor Hisham said in a statement yesterday.
When contacted last week, Dr Noor Hisham said influenza surveillance conducted in 300 government and private health facilities in the country revealed no unusual incidence of seasonal influenza including “swine flu”.
He said that infection control surveillance and measures were in place to monitor swine flu or Influenza A (H1N1) and it would be guided by any World Health Organisation (WHO) global action plan.
News reports have stated that India’s Health Ministry had recorded 16,235 cases of swine flu there with 926 deaths as of Feb 24.
The H1N1 virus that caused the influenza pandemic in 2009-2010 was thought to have originated in swine. WHO estimated that 284,500 died from the time it appeared in April 2009 to mid-2010.
He said countries no longer needed to report Influenza A (H1N1) cases to WHO after it declared a post-pandemic H1N1 in August 2010.
“The virus has since been considered as one of the seasonal influenza viruses that is circulating throughout the world all year round and WHO does not prescribe any special precaution or treatment for it,” he said, adding that there would be a slight increase in cases during the rainy season in tropical countries.
He said the symptoms and severity of the H1N1 virus were similar to other influenza viruses and there was no difference in handling seasonal influenza and H1N1 infection.
He assured that there was an adequate stockpile of antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu in government hospitals to treat seasonal influenza.
“There are seasonal influenza vaccines available in the market and individuals at higher risk of infection such as pregnant mothers, children and those with chronic diseases could ask their doctors about getting vaccinated,” he said.
Universiti Malaya microbiology professor Dr Sazaly Abu Bakar said there was no cause for alarm now.
Dr Sazaly said the 900 deaths were likely due to crowded living conditions and a lack of medical care.
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