Materia Medica Malaysiana

Chua Advises Tsunami Volunteers To Take Health Precautions

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- Volunteers going to tsunami-devastated regions such as Aceh and Sri Lanka need to take all the necessary health precautions to avoid being infected by contagious diseases, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said.
He said they should not simply leave for the disaster-stricken areas as if going on a vacation.
"We are worried that there are volunteers who have left without proper preparation.
"They need to have their blood tested and jabs taken against various diseases like cholera and typhoid," he told reporters Wednesday.
Earlier, Dr Chua on behalf of the staff of his ministry presented a RM85,350 cheque to NSTP Group Deputy Editor-in-Chief Datuk Hishamuddin Aun as a donation to the New Straits Times Press Group's tsunami victims fund.
He said preventive measures were important in making volunteers less susceptible to illnesses while working in tsunami-hit regions.
Volunteers also needed to go for a health check-up upon their return to detect symptoms of infections, he said.
He said the volunteers were not quarantined on arrival but were only placed under observation for one or two days.
Dr Chua said it was advisable for volunteers not to spend more than 10 days in tsunami-hit areas.
Asked whether any volunteers had contracted diseases, he said it was not known yet.
"The incubation period is a week or two. We will know (if the volunteers are infected) in one or two more days," Dr Chua said.
Several Malaysian volunteer groups have been in Banda Aceh in the past two weeks including Mercy Malaysia, Salam Foundation, Peace Malaysia and Malaysian Red Crescent Society.