Materia Medica Malaysiana

Pakistani workers to be screened for leishmaniasis

THE Health Ministry will be on the lookout for various contagious diseases that may be brought in by the 100,000 Pakistani workers expected next month, reported Utusan Malaysia yesterday.
The National Health Services Department’s Disease Control Division director Dr Ramlee Rahmat said his department would closely monitor diseases not found in Malaysia but common in Pakistan like leishmaniasis.
If untreated, the parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of certain sand flies found in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan could be fatal, he added.
“Apart from monitoring for diseases like tuberculosis (TB), Hepatitis B, syphilis, gonorrhoea and HIV infections, we will look out for diseases not normally found here.
Apart from causing skin cancer, syphilis and TB, Dr Ramlee explained that leishmaniasis could also cause limb and bone marrow complications.
Children and adults who contract the disease would suffer from high fever, diarrhoea and cough, he added.
Dr Ramlee said about 10,000 of the Pakistani workers would undergo random checks at the country's main entry points like the KL International Airport.