Materia Medica Malaysiana

New alert against SARS

The country is back on full alert against SARS, following fresh cases of the virus in China. From now, thermal screening will be reactivated at airports, and hospitals and doctors will be monitoring for symptoms of the disease.

This follows reports of two confirmed cases and a half-dozen suspected ones during the past week in Beijing and Anhui province, where almost 500 people have been quarantined.

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the Government would not issue a public advisory against travel to China at this stage.

He added the ministry had reopened its SARS operations room and re-activated its hotline (6-0326989436). Also, 21 hospitals around the country have been directed to set up isolation wards.

Dr Chua said passengers arriving in Malaysia from Beijing are required to undergo thermal scanning to check if they are running a fever, and visitors from Guangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong are required to fill out health declaration forms.

On Friday, 1,980 tourist arrivals at KLIA and Kota Kinabalu from Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shanghai were screened for SARS symptoms. None were found positive (See graphic for symptoms on P2).

Speaking to reporters after the first bilateral meeting on health between Malaysia and China at the Institute of Health Management, Dr Chua said all passengers arriving at KLIA from China would also have to submit health declaration cards distributed on board their aircraft.

Dr Chua said doctors and nurses who handled suspected victims during the global outbreak last year would be mobilised at the hospitals.

"Institute for Medical Research and hospital laboratories are also being put on alert," he said, adding that the ministry would issue daily statements on the SARS situation.

During the global outbreak last year, the SARS virus killed some 800 people and infected more than 8,000. Malaysia reported five cases, with two deaths.

Dr Chua said the ministry would collaborate with China to strengthen surveillance and to facilitate information exchange.

On the SARS alert and the measures put in place, Dr Chua said they would be reviewed from time to time based on global developments and the situation in the country.

Asked whether Malaysia would bar its citizens from visiting China, Dr Chua said: "We are not going to stop anyone from visiting the country. Our advice is to be careful." China's Vice-Minister of Health Dr Zhu Qingsheng said Malaysia and China had pledged to work together against SARS and other infectious diseases.

China has stepped up anti-SARS efforts ahead of a major national holiday next week when millions of people will be on the move, he said.

"We have instructed local authorities to take appropriate precautions and measures to prevent the possibility of the transmission of the virus and make the May Day holiday as safe as possible," he said.

He expressed confidence that "tourists will continue to travel, including out of the country".

He said China had put in place thermal screening at all exit point