‘Necessary to vaccinate’

BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Parents are increasingly giving vaccination a miss for their kids. Doctors, however, are far from pleased with the trend. They point to the rising risk of children getting stricken with preventable diseases.

Some feel that this risk has been heightened by the presence of many migrant workers in the country whose vaccination status is not known.

Malaysian Paediatric Association subcommittee chairman for immunisation Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail said there was increasing refusal and hesitancy to accept childhood vaccination, especially among the more educated parents.

He said these children did not only face the risk of suffering diseases but could face complications and other long term consequences from them.

Dr Zulkifli cited the case of an eight-month-old baby who had 250ml of fluid drained out from the left of his chest and was warded in intensive care unit for two weeks because his parents did not want the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).

The infant had suffered from cough for one month and fever and breathlessness for a few days when admitted to hospital. Chest X-rays showed pneumonia with fluid in his chest, he said.

“The hospital bill was 18 times the cost of the total course of the vaccine, not including the risk of hospital-acquired infection, pain of IV drips and the chest drain and psychological trauma,” he said.

In another case, a one-year-old boy was never given the primary vaccines because his grandmother was against it.

He had been coughing for three months and did not get well despite being given traditional remedies.

Dr Zulkifli said tests found the bacteria which causes pertussis or whooping cough present.

He said the boy need not have coughed for so long if he had taken the DTaP vaccine given at ages two, three and five months with a booster at 18 months.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the number of parents refusing vaccination was rising with families with children aged below two, increasing from 470 cases in 2013 to 1,292 cases last year. However, the numbers should be more because statistics collected did not include private health clinics, he said.

Among reasons for vaccination refusal were doubts over the safety of vaccine content, the belief that homeopathy medication and traditional remedies should not be mixed with modern medicine, and the halal concern.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur consultant neonatologist Dr Irene Cheah said in the process of avoiding vaccination, some parents also reject vitamin K injections. As a result, one baby died from bleeding in the brain and another suffered brain damage a few months ago, she said.

The injection is given at birth to prevent bleeding in the brain or gut which could be life threatening or lead to delayed development such as cerebral palsy, she said.

Bad experience a reason some avoid inoculation

PETALING JAYA: A previous bad experience is one reason some parents have chosen not to vaccinate.

Bessie, 34, who did not want her real name published, saw her first child, now aged six, fully vaccinated according to the government recommended schedule.

However, it was her experience with her second child, now aged four, that altered her thinking.

The child seemed to have an adverse reaction to the Hepatitis B vaccine when given the jab at one-month-old.

“She was vaccinated in the morning and the swelling and discomfort started not long after and the following night.

“She cried persistently for three hours and gave one very loud, high-pitched scream,” she said.

Bessie said her daughter continued to have fever for a few days, along with a swollen thigh for more than a week.

“Later, I found out she had brain inflammation and after that, I noticed behavioural change and loss of eye-contact,” she said.

As her daughter grew older, she had speech delay, she said.

She said there was no fever or illness prior to the vaccination and the baby was a healthy, fully breastfed baby.

A father of fraternal twin daughters from Subang Jaya, Dan, 36, spoke of the trauma his children went through 10 days after their second and third month shots, which were the first and second doses of DTP, polio and Hib vaccines.

He said both his twins had fever.

However, the older twin suffered a seizure twice: on Nov 19, 2009 and Dec 19, 2009.

When she had the second seizure, she had to be rushed to the hospital and admitted into the intensive care unit for two days.

“The older twin also gave out a sudden ‘weird’ high-pitched scream and it sometimes happened in the middle of the night. She’d also suddenly throw her head backwards,” he said.

The doctor said the seizures were due to E. coli infection but at the sixth month, Dan decided to stop all vaccines for the twins until he researched further.

“I later learned that this was a sign of encephalitis (swelling of the brain), which can be triggered by vaccines,” he said.

Report if children suffer ill effects, parents advised

PETALING JAYA: Parents are encouraged to notify the National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau of any symptoms they think might be linked with vaccination.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said a committee would investigate the incidence.

“If there is a safety issue with the implicated vaccine, a warning shall be given to all health facilities and the community,” he said in an email reply.

He said that the bureau had received 102 reports or 0.0025% of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) in 4.1 million doses of vaccination given to children aged below two in Malaysia last year.

“Most AEFI cases reported involve minor reaction at injection site, mild fever and rash which were resolved uneventfully,” he said.

Dr Hisham said AEFI reports received for all age groups showed a decreasing trend, 1,068 cases reported last year compared with 1,777 in 2013.

While most cases of AEFI had been mild, in severe cases, children would need to be hospitalised, such as in cases of anaphylactic shock or Acute Demyelinating Encepha­lomyelitis or death following immunisation, he said.

“The suspected severe AEFI cases will be thoroughly investigated and if found related to the vaccination, the child will not be subjected to the same vaccine type,” he said.

Parents could lodge reports of AEFI to any government or private health facilities that administer vaccines or fill up the form – “Consumer Complaints Relating To Medicine” – which could be downloaded from the bureau website http://portal.bpfk.gov.my/ or fax to 03-7956 7151 or mail it to the bureau.

Asked why Malaysians still get infected with certain diseases that they had been immunised from, he said certain districts had lower coverage.

“This is contributed by a highly mobile population, working parents and to some extent the vaccine hesitancy group.

“At the same time, we have influx of immigrants of unknown vaccination status,” he said.

Dr Hisham pointed out that with immunisation, smallpox had been eradicated and the world was declared free of smallpox in 1980.

The last reported case was in 1978 (laboratory acquired) and 1977 was the last case in community.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said when the Government introduced the use of the various vaccines, it would weigh the pros and cons and would only use it when they were convinced that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

Solve garbage problem within a month, Selangor authorities told

PETALING JAYA: The Selangor state and local authorities have been asked to solve the garbage management problem in the Petaling and Hulu Langat districts within a month.

They are to present updates on the garbage management situation to the national task force meeting on dengue next month, said Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“From Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam’s visits to Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara and Taman Taming Jaya flats, the issue of garbage in Selangor was not managed well.

“Too many piles of garbage were uncollected while the surroundings are dirty,” he said in a press statement posted on www.kpkesihatan.com yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham said the services provided were not enough for the community – for instance, only three garbage bins were provided for four blocks of flats.

The garbage management was still being implemented in stages in Petaling and Hulu Langat districts, he said.

Local authorities were also asked to take dengue preventive measures in view of ­traders selling their food and wares into the night during Ramadan.

“They must carry out larvaciding and preventive fogging in public places. They must also ensure that rubbish are collected and the surrounding area cleaned up,” he said.

From June 28 to July 4, a total of 2,832 dengue cases were reported nationwide compared with 2,710 cases the week before, which is a 5% increase.

From January to July 4, a total of 59,365 cases had been reported compared with 44,518 cases for the same period last year, an increase of 14,847 or 4%.

There were 165 dengue deaths in total, almost double the number (85) in the same period last year. The top three states with the highest number of dengue cases were Selangor (726), followed by Johor (217) and Perak (52).

Local authorities to be penalised in anti-dengue op

the star

BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: In an unprecedented move to battle the dengue scourge, the Health Ministry will fine local authorities if they fail to clean up areas under their care.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subra­maniam said that the ministry would penalise the local authorities under the Destruction of Disease Bearing Insect Act 1975 if their areas were found to be breeding mosquitoes.

“If we find the absence of action by the local authorities contributed to breeding of mosquitoes, our ­ministry will take action against them,” he said during a spot check in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara here yesterday.

Dr Subramaniam said the ministry would not hesitate to act against the local authorities if they conti­nued to turn a blind eye to cleanliness issues.

Deputy health director-general Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said no fines had been imposed against errant government departments until now.

From January to June 20, Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara, which covers a 162ha area, made up of mainly flats, condominiums, residential areas and squatter areas, had reported 288 dengue cases with two deaths.

Pointing to the sites where people had dumped rubbish, including the river, Dr Subramaniam said the local authorities had not done well in garbage collection.

“Whatever measures we take will not succeed if the local authorities and residents do not take this seriously and change their attitude,” he said.

A resident in Jalan Cempaka, Husin Chea, 56, said garbage bins provided by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) were not enough and garbage collection was not frequent enough although it was done regularly.

He said the presence of many foreigners in the area also added to the bulk of the garbage, adding that outsiders were also throwing rubbish into their neighbourhood.

More needs to be done in Kayu Ara

PETALING JAYA: The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has admitted that work needs to be done in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara although the garbage situation has improved in the last two years following efforts to clean up the area.

MBPJ Solid Waste Manage­ment Department director Lee Lih Shyan said they had placed six huge garbage bins along Jalan Cempaka for the community there.

Although it was adequate according to the number of residents, he said illegal dumping of waste by outsiders posed a challenge.

“We are in the midst of solving the problem as we discovered it last year and we are doing our best to solve the issue,” he said, adding that the contractor had been collecting the bulk garbage three times a week.

Lee said this following Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subra­maniam’s comment that the local authorities had failed to address the garbage problem in Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara.

Dr Subramaniam said he would do spot checks once every two weeks in areas with high dengue cases in the country.

Lee also said that vacant idle land and illegal recycling activities also posed a challenge to the garbage issue there.

He said traders tended to leave their garbage indiscriminately after sorting out and taking only things they wanted.

Health Ministry to penalise local authorities indifferent to dengue menace

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: In an unprecedented move to battle the dengue scourge, the Health Ministry has warned local authorities that it would fine them if they fail to buck up and clean up areas under their care.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said the Ministry would not hesitate to fine them under the Destruction of Disease Bearing Insect Act 1975 if their localities were found to be breeding mosquitoes.

"If we find that the absence of action on the part of the local authorities has contributed to breeding of mosquitoes, our Ministry, if we have evidence, we will take action against them," he said.

Dr Subramaniam said this during a spot check at Kampung Sungai Kayu Ara here Friday morning.

Under the Act, owners of premises found breeding mosquitoes could be issued a compound of up to RM500 or charged in court, said deputy health director-general Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman.

First-time offenders can be fine not more than RM10,000 or jailed for not more than two years while repeat offenders can be fined RM50,000, jailed two years or both.

He said such action had never been taken against other Government departments, including schools, until now.

Dr Subramaniam said the Ministry would not hesitate to move in this direction due to the severity of the situation.

He said this when asked the action that the Ministry would take if local authorities do not clean up their backyard, as many such instances had been highlighted by the press.

"For now, I am asking the state health director to give updates and show pictures of problematic sites to state authorities and asked them what action the authorities will take," he said.

Don: Rope in university students to tackle dengue

PETALING JAYA: With the dengue threat continuing unabated, a health expert has suggested that the brains of university students be picked on how best to counter the menace.

Universiti Malaya virologist Prof Dr Sazaly Abu Bakar wants a competition held in universities to come up with ideas on how to reduce dengue infections.

Backing the decision of the national dengue task force in getting universities to “adopt” nearby dengue hotspots, Dr Sazaly said such a competition would help in the search for a solution.

“But there must be clear targets on what is needed,” he added.

On Wednesday, the taskforce, made up of several ministries and agencies, announced that it would work with the Education Ministry to get 27 public and private higher education institutions involved in the fight against dengue.

Dr Sazaly said university students and staff should be guided on how to protect themselves from the Aedes mosquitoes.

He also said many Malaysians were still “uneducated” on rubbish disposal and that the students could help overcome this.

“Malaysians often think that it’s the Government’s job to keep places clean. This mindset has to go,” he added.

Dr Sazaly said getting local councils to fumigate areas was not enough. “We must do more.”

Varsities to help fight dengue

PETALING JAYA: Universities will be roped in to “adopt” nearby dengue hotspots to fight the menace.

The national dengue task force, made up of multiple ministries and agencies, has decided this and will collaborate with the Education Ministry. The move will involve 27 public and private higher education institutions.

“The universities will be guided by state health offices. This is to create awareness and bring about change in health-seeking behaviours,” Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said yesterday.

The task force’s latest move was posted on his Facebook page after its meeting yesterday.

The universities would also organise “Dengue Free Campus” programmes involving staff and students, he said.

Dr Noor Hisham said private hospitals were also asked to ensure that their physicians updated themselves with the latest guidelines on clinical management of dengue as 20% of dengue deaths nationwide occurred in their facilities.

“We will work together with the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia in making this happen,” he said.

According to ministry data, another four dengue patients died during the week June 21 to 27, putting the country’s total dengue deaths this year at 162.

From January to June 27, the ministry reported 56,533 dengue cases with 162 deaths compared with 42,229 cases and 82 deaths during the same period last year.

The ministry expected the increasing trend in dengue cases to continue until the end of the year.

Healthcare industry urged to improve services

PETALING JAYA: Malaysian healthcare industry members have been challenged to improve services.

In giving the thumbs up to medical tourism, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr Ashok Philip said the healthcare sector should keep improving its services to meet patients’ needs.

He said more private medical centres were being accredited by the Malaysian Society for Quality in Healthcare and the Joint Commission International.

“Because of that, foreign patients have a fair amount of confidence,” he said in a telephone interview.

He was responding to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s announcement on Tuesday that medical tourism would be made a priority for Malaysia.

Malaysia had 770,000 medical tourists last year, bringing in around RM700mil in revenue.

The number is expected to rise to 930,000, with an estimated revenue of RM1bil, he said.

Dr Ashok said the country was attracting medical tourists in a big way and had many repeat customers, especially from Indonesia.

Asked if medical tourism might worsen the brain drain in public healthcare, Dr Ashok agreed that private hospitals generally roped in more specialists from the public sector.

And for this reason, the Health Ministry encouraged more doctors to go for alternative ways of getting their Master’s degrees.

However, Fomca secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj is worried that with increasing demands from medical tourism, the private sector would keep taking specialists from the public sector and this would cause a longer waiting period for patients there.

“The focus should be on improving healthcare for Malaysians first,” he said.

Expert: Two-year grace period to ban smoking too long

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: The proposed two-year grace period for eateries to ban smoking is too long, said a tobacco control consultant.

Universiti Putra Malaysia Tobacco Control’s Prof Dr Lekhraj Rampal said a six-month grace period should be adequate.

“More than that is too much. When dealing with harmful products, we don’t talk two years,” he said in response to the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association president Ho Su Mong’s proposal to the Health Ministry.

On Saturday, The Star front-paged a report on the Health Ministry’s plan to ban smoking at parks and eateries nationwide, which would soon include open-air premises and those without air-conditioning.

The association proposed the setting aside of a 40% designated smoking area and a two-year grace period before the “no smoking” ruling was imposed.

It also called for shops with 10 tables or less to be exempted.

Dr Lekhraj said the 40% designated smoking area was not a good proposal because there was no assurance that the smoke would not travel to non-smokers.

“The total ban should not be delayed because smoking could cause cancer, heart problems and other medical issues.

“The association must ask itself if it is willing to pay for all the treatments,” he said. “Currently, the Government is paying for it and it involves taxpayers’ money.”

Dr Lekhraj said the ministry’s latest plan was much needed because “many non-smokers do not know how to tell off smokers when the smoke bothers them”.

Those who want to quit smoking were affected by the smoke too and sometimes postponed their plan, he said.

The Government should enforce the ban as Malaysia was a signatory to the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

“This has been talked about for some time now,” Dr Lekhraj said, adding that cigarettes sold at cashier counters should also be banned because it was a form of advertising and such an environment would not encourage people to quit smoking.

Space for smokers sought

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry is gathering feedback this month on the proposal to set aside 40% of space in non-air-conditioned eateries for smokers, instead of a total ban.

Ministry official Dr Nor Aryana Hassan said the suggestion by the Malaysia-Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association would be accepted if there was no objection from other associations and consumer groups.

“We will be gauging the response from these groups until end of the month,” said Dr Nor Aryana, who heads the ministry’s secretariat on the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, of which Malaysia is a signatory.

Yesterday, The Star front-paged a report on the ministry’s move to ban smoking at parks and eateries nationwide, even at open-air premises and those without air-conditioning.

In response, the association president Ho Su Mong had proposed to the ministry that it consider allowing the setting aside of a 40% designated smoking area and a two-year grace period before the no-smoking ruling was imposed.

It also called for shops with 10 tables or fewer to be exempted from the ruling.

Dr Nor Aryana said the minister would announce the final decision before gazetting eateries and national parks as smoke-free zones.

“The ministry is also open to feedback online,” she added.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) secretary-general Datuk Paul Selvaraj said while Malaysia should work towards smoke-free eating places, those insisting on their rights should put on a mask when they smoke.

“Be it a special room for smokers or other forms of segregation, it is acceptable as long as the secondary smoke does not travel to others,” he said.

“More importantly, enforcement must be beefed up as people still smoke in air-conditioned areas.”

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association president T. Muthusamy said operators should be allowed to designate zones in their premises for non-smokers.

“Some owners have fully banned smoking in their restaurants as they cater to a certain crowd,” he added.

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has gone a step further by suggesting that the sale of cigarettes be banned in eateries.

Its president S.M. Mohamed Idris said there was no reason for cigarettes to be sold in restaurants or food outlets as they were not food.

“Cigarette smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals and poisons. It is a killing agent,” he said.

“There should be a total ban since people of all ages patronise eateries and stalls,” he added.

Epilepsy cure through surgery

The star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Many people do not know that some epileptic cases can be cured through surgery.

A couple has even deemed such procedure a miracle after seeing their son’s recovery.

A taxi driver who wanted to be known only as Mohd Alam, 58, and his wife Hamidah Ahmad, 48, a cook, said they could not believe that their son Muhammad Aazim, 10, no longer suffers from seizures after a brain surgery last year.

Muhammad Aazim was 13 months old when he had fever and started to have seizures. He was diagnosed with encephalitis. Hamidah said he used to have 12 to 15 seizures a day and would suddenly fall on the floor.

It was only last year when the boy was nine that Mohd Alam and Hamidah decided to turn to surgery. And since then, life had been a total turn-around for them.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) paediatric neurology department head Dr Ahmad Rithauddin said encephalitis had caused scarring to one part of Muhammad Aazim’s brain and this led to electrical disturbances in the brain.

“We tried all sorts of medication on him but none could control his seizures. And because of his seizures, he stopped learning new things,” he said.

He said epileptic seizures could be due to genetic factors and brain lesions such as tumours, scars or abnormal brain formation. “Some of these lesions can be treated by surgery,” he said.

Dr Ahmad said epilepsy was under diagnosed in Malaysia and some patients might not have received proper assessment due to a lack of awareness, adding that some patients suffer up to 40 to 50 seizures a day.

Expertise available only enabled HKL and most hospitals to carry out straight forward surgeries, but through a public-private collaboration, more complex cases were referred to a private hospital, he said.

Through the partnership between Sime Darby Foundation (YSD), Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDHC) and HKL, surgical treatment was made possible for the lower income group through the Epilepsy Surgery Programme Fund, said YSD CEO Yatela Zainal.

‘Healthcare budget cut not a problem’

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: The quality of care given at government hospitals and clinics has not been compromised despite a RM300mil cut in the Health Ministry's budget following the fall in oil prices, said minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

On April 18, a news site reported that the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), which is under the jurisdiction of the Education Ministry, had its budget cut to RM387mil despite an expenditure of RM510mil last year, raising fears that the quality of care for patients might be affected, while medical students might also be negatively impacted.

Dr Subramaniam said his ministry has allocated RM27bil for healthcare this year, and so, savings were made by slashing expenditure at functions, conferences and campaigns.

“No, we have not made any decision on any more cuts next year,” he said when asked if the budget would be trimmed further.

Speaking after the launch of the Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka's medical book in conjunction with the International Book Fest here yesterday, Dr Subramaniam said budget cuts at UMMC should not have impacted training.

“This is a specific issue with UMMC. They should look at how they could manage their budget so that it does not affect their core activities and discuss it with the Education Ministry to see how they can resolve it,” he said.

In a separate interview, a doctor who declined to be named said there was a budget cut across all ministries and health expenditure had been cut but allowances of doctors were left alone.

While there were no cuts on dispensing per se, hospitals had been advised to use more generic drugs, while at the same time rationing the use of costlier innovator drugs, he said.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur director Datuk Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain said that the hospital was conducting more impact studies so that clinicians knew the financial impact of every item ordered and service rendered.

Elderly kidney donor doing well

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: An 82-year-old woman became the oldest living kidney donor in South-East Asia when she donated a kidney to her daughter two years ago.

Simah Empaling and her daughter Ibi Uding, 50, are back to their regular way of life after the operation, with Ibi running her cleaning business with her husband.

“Now, I want to rear 110 goats in our rubber plantation,” said the enterprising Ibi, an Iban from the Merakai longhouse in Serian, 80km from Kuching.

Ibi, who had polycystic kidneys, said she lost hope when she heard that her kidneys had failed in late 2012. By January 2013, she no longer had any appetite, and her weight had dropped from 72kg to 55kg.

After Ibi was put on dialysis, two persons from a church offered their kidneys to her, but her doctor said organ transplants involving non-relatives were not allowed in Malaysia.

Her husband was also ruled out as he was diabetic.

“When my mother saw me on dialysis, she broke down and said she could not see her child die before her,” said Ibi.

Several tests were carried out on Simah, then 79.

Following the transplant, the doctors were amazed that Simah’s kidney functioned like it belonged to a 40-year-old, with Ibi having no problems passing urine with the donated kidney.

Within three days, Simah was out of the intensive care unit, a pheno­menon attributed to her good health after toiling as a padi farmer and rubber tapper.

Simah, who has 25 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, said she has not had any problems since the transplant.

“I still plant vegetables in my garden and clean my own house,” she said.

Nephrologist Prof Datuk Dr Tan Si Yen said it was not a problem for the elderly to donate kidneys if they pass the tests.

The oldest living kidney donor in the world is an 83-year-old man from Britain.

Dr Tan said the success rate involving living related donated kidneys was better than cadeveric donors, and on average, they could last more than 20 years, with the world record currently at 48 years.

ABO incompatible (ABOi) renal transplants, such as the one received by Ibi, have a similar success rate, he said.

School hit by hand, foot and mouth disease outbreak to partially open

the star
BY LOH FOON FONG

PETALING JAYA: Except for nine classes, SJK (C) Lick Hung Subang Jaya which has been been hit by hand, foot and mouth disease will reopen today.

Health officers who inspected the school decided that it need not be closed totally, said Selangor Education Department director Zainuren Mohd Nor.

“The students can return to school except for those from the classes affected as these will remain closed until May 4,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.

To date, 19 students were reported suffering from the disease and they had been told to stay home. “We will continue to screen the students in school,” he said.

Asked the reason for the health officers returning to the school to inspect again yesterday, Zainuren said they had gone back to the school as part of continuously checks on the situation as well as to ensure the safety and health of students.

Determined: Teachers and parents cleaning a class following HFM outbreak at SJKC Lick Hung in SS19 Subang Jaya. —AZMAN GHANI / The Star

“It is not linked to their examinations,” he said when asked if the school had made any request to open soon in view of students’ examination period.

Zainuren said teachers together with students’ parents were involved in clean-up efforts at the school.

Recently, a Year One girl suffered from fever and pain in the arms and mouth for five days, before being admitted to Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru. She died the next day on April 18.

The Health Ministry had warned that the number of cases were expected to increase this year. The public were advised take the necessary precaution.

Based on the ministry’s surveillance, a large peak occurs once every three years and the last peak was in 2012 with 34,519 cases but only one death.

Zainuren said the hand, foot and mouth disease screening process in the school would be ongoing. Asked how many schools were closed recently due to the disease, he said this was the only known government school closed.

Later yesterday, the school’s website put up a notice to inform all students to return to school today except for those from 1E, 1H, 2C, 3D, 4A, 5E, 5F, 6H, 6I.

The website also said that all additional classes and co-curriculum activities would be cancelled for now.

All shared rooms such as laboratories, resource centre would be closed for clean-ups.

Parents were encouraged to provide hand sanitiser for their children to bring to school.

Students who were ill were required to rest at home and parents should monitor and inform the school about the illness.

The school’s examination had been postponed for a week to May 12.

Academy complementing local varsities in training family physicians

The star
BY LOH FOON FONG

KUALA LUMPUR: In an effort to improve primary care services, the Academy of Family Physicians signed an MoU with the Govern­ment to formalise the recognition of its training to produce family physicians.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said due to limited places at the local universities for medical postgraduate courses, this was another way for doctors to be trained.

“We are living in an era of information explosion and it’s important that doctors adopt the spirit of continuously upgrading themselves,” he said at the signing of the memorandum yesterday.

The academy has been collaborating with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners for 36 years to produce family physicians who are specialists in general practice.

Dr Subramaniam said the effort was part of the Government’s policy to provide more equitable healthcare to all.

So far, there are more than 6,000 general practitioners in the country and 800 were family medicine specialists.

The presence of family medicine specialists helps improve the quality of services in health clinics, with laboratory services, diagnostic imaging and specialist-category drugs. And, these helped reduce congestion in hospitals.

Under the agreement, both parties would continue to work together to recognise and encourage family medicine as a distinct discipline, while promoting enhanced skills and professionalism among medical practitioners.

The MoU was signed between Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and the academy’s president Prof Datuk Dr DM Thuraiappah.

At the event, Dr Subramaniam also said it was outrageous to put on braces as a “fashion statement” without consulting orthodontists.

On Thursday, Harian Metro reported that a 25-year-old woman had taken off her fake braces which she wore for fun after learning that her best friend who had worn fake dental braces for a year had died from intestinal cancer.

She claimed specialist doctors treating her believed that this could have been due to wearing the fake dental braces.

A check with the ministry’s Oral Health Division revealed that they had not received any complaints on the use of fake braces but had received four complaints on untrained personnel putting braces for people since last year.

It said that the trend seemed to have started last year in Malaysia although these had been around for several years in this region.

While the division did not have any evidence of cancer related to fake braces, they had caused gum problems, mouth ulcers, oral infections, mobile teeth, dead teeth, dental caries, tooth root resorption, disorderly arrangement of teeth and tooth loss, with its associated pain, it said.