Materia Medica Malaysiana

Private hospitals ready to tackle SARS

Private hospitals nationwide are ready to handle any possible re-emergence
of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, with many having reactivated
their isolation wards and placed their doctors and nurses on full alert.

Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Ridzwan Bakar said the association had already uploaded to its website the announcement by Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek that the country was back on full alert against SARS, following fresh cases of the virus infection in China.

"The association has also directed its members to abide by the guidelines drawn up by the ministry for hospitals during the last SARS outbreak," he said in an interview.

He said the hospitals were now familiar with the protocols and, therefore, there should be no problem in their handling of suspected SARS patients.

However, no cases have yet been reported in the country and no passengers arriving from China have been detected with SARS symptoms — high fever, cough and breathing difficulty — through thermal screening at Kuala Lumpur Inter-national Airport and other entry points.

"Private hospitals are on the alert just like public hospitals," Dr Ridzwan said, adding that it was too early to determine the severity of the new virus in China with two confirmed and six suspected cases, all traceable to one laboratory.

China has also quarantined more than 700 people, including 24 staff of its National Institute of Virology where a medical student was diagnosed with SARS. He is believed to have been doing research on the virus.

Dr Ridzwan assured that private hospitals would work hand-in-hand with the 21 SARS-designated hospitals.

A Reuters report from Beijing said that World Health Organisation teams had arrived in the Chinese capital to launch their campaign to halt a chain of deadly SARS infections, days before hundreds of millions of people set off for the May Day holiday.

Meanwhile, Aida Ahmad reports from Penang that Penang Hospital has established a permanent "Infectious Disease" ward to handle suspected SARS, bird flu and other severe communicable diseases.

Hospital director Dr Zainina Mohd Zain said the ward, in the newlyrenovated Block C, was equipped with four isolation rooms and attached bathrooms.

She said a special team of 70 medical staff, including several doctors, would be assigned to run the ward.

Dr Zainina said the hospital had gained much experience from handling SARS cases last year.

"Members of the special team comprise doctors and nurses who had treated the cases last year. As such, their experience and knowledge will be vital in treating SARS or other severe communicable diseases." She said the hospital had also been submitting daily reports on any serious communicable diseases detected at the hospital to the Health Ministry.

In Johor Baru, Shahrum Sayuthim reports that State Health and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Halimah Mohd Sadique has directed that all tourists from Beijing and Shanghai entering the country via Singapore undergo screening for SARS at the Second Link checkpoint.

"They will be barred from crossing into Johor through other entry points, including the Causeway. The new ruling also applies to Malaysians returning to the country via Singapore's Changi Airport after visiting the two Chinese cities," she said.

She said the Immigration Department had relayed the directive to their Singaporean counterparts.

"The screening at the Second Link is an additional precauti