Materia Medica Malaysiana

Public not to be alarmed if dengue patients are warded in ICU

The public should not be alarmed if a patient suspected of dengue is warded at a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU).
Health Ministry’s disease control director Dr Ramlee Rahmat said it was because the condition of the patient had deteriorated and there was a need for further intensive care.
“It is not they were placed at the ICU, the moment they entered the hospital,” said Dr Ramlee yesterday.
He was asked whether all nine dengue cases at ICU were critical and about their chances of recovery.
He advised the public against being unnecessarily alarmed when patients underwent treatment at ICU.
As to the hotspots in Rawang and Shah Alam where many dengue cases were recorded, the Selangor Health Department found that they occurred mostly in the past month.
“So far this month, there were no cases of dengue reported,” said department director Dr Ang Kim Teng.
She dismissed complaints of a lack of fogging or gotong royong during the period when the residents had contracted dengue - between the first and third week.
“It is uncertain whether what they are saying is correct,” said Dr Ang.
On the new housing estate in Puncak Perdana, Shah Alam, where a resident claimed mosquitoes were a menace, she said there were two dengue cases in the first two weeks of last month.
It was also reported that the Kampung Melayu Sri Kundang longhouse in Rawang had recorded 12 dengue cases.