Four foreigners down with malaria

PENANG: At least four foreign workers living in Paya Terubong, where malaria has claimed the life of an 11-year-old, are suspected to have contracted the disease.
Paya Terubong assemblyman Datuk Dr Loh Hock Hun said an Indonesian plantation worker was admitted to the Penang Hospital on Monday morning due to high fever.
He said state health officers also discovered during recent health screening exercises that another three foreign workers from the same area had the symptoms of malaria.
"We are still waiting for the test results on these workers," he told reporters yesterday after visiting the Oon family, whose youngest daughter Chea Min died of malaria last Thursday.
Dr Loh said health officers have been visiting the affected hill areas to carry out screenings on at least 100 foreign workers there, following the girl's death.
It was reported that Chea Min’s malaria-stricken 68-year-old grandfather Oon Hoay Lai has been warded in the hospital’s intensive care unit, and is currently fighting for his life.
Dr Loh urged the public to avoid the hill areas in Mukim 13 and 14 in Paya Terubong.
"If need be, they should wear long-sleeved tops and long pants, as well as apply mosquito repellent," he said.
Dr Loh also said houses and their surroundings should be kept clean to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
At a separate function in Bukit Mertajam, state Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman P. K. Subbaiyah said employers must stop hiring illegal immigrants to prevent an outbreak of contagious diseases.
He said illegal immigrants could be carriers of contagious diseases, as they did not undergo medical screening upon entering the country.
"Employers must co-operate by sending their workers for a medical examination to keep infectious diseases at bay," he told reporters during Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman’s visit to the Bukit Mertajam Hospital here.
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