Materia Medica Malaysiana

Three children in Penang may have Coxsackie

Three children in a tsunami relief centre in Penang may be down with the coxsackie virus.
They were detected with symptoms of the disease a few days ago and have been put in isolation.
Dr Ramlee Rahmat, the director of the Health Ministry's Communicable Disease Control, said laboratory results would confirm if the children were victims of coxsackie.
It is learnt that four kindergartens in Penang have been temporarily closed to prevent the spread of the disease among children.
There was a coxsackie epidemic in Malaysia in 1997.
Dr Ramlee said the health team at the relief centre had stepped up checks.
"We do not know what type of virus has affected these children. While awaiting laboratory results, the health teams will take precautions to prevent its spread."
Dr Ramlee said since coxsackie was endemic to Malaysia and that the coxsackie virus type A was a recognised cause of the hand-foot-mouth disease, more than 100 health centres nationwide were constantly monitoring the disease among children. General practitioners were also on the alert.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said the public would be informed if there was an outbreak of the disease among children in Penang.
Symptoms include fever, sore throat, running nose, mouth ulcers, rash on hands, feet, or buttocks, vomiting and diarrhoea.