Penang baby is latest dengue victim in state

Star: A three-month-old baby girl has become the latest dengue fatality in Penang.
Ooi Hooi Xin, who was down with a fever for four days, died at a private hospital on Monday.
Her father Eng Thye, 37, a salesman and elder sister Hooi Kee, 11, and brother Keat Seng, four, were warded for dengue at the same hospital on that day.
Eng Thye’s wife Toh Kwee Hong, 35, said the condition of her husband and Hooi Kee was said to be unstable and that they were under strict observation. The younger child had recovered and would soon be discharged.
The family is from Desa Baiduri in Bandar Baru Air Itam, a dengue hotspot.
So far seven people are believed to have died from dengue in Penang.
Toh said she took her baby to a clinic when the child became feverish last Thursday.
She added that when the fever did not go down the next day, she rushed the baby to a private hospital.
“My baby was not admitted that day. Three days later, she suddenly turned blue and had difficulty breathing,” Toh said yesterday.
“I took her to the same hospital again but she died a few hours later.”
The couple also has a two-year-old daughter, Hooi Ying, who is being looked after by a babysitter.
Six confirmed dengue cases were recorded this week, according to the state dengue operations centre.
A six-year-old girl from Bandar Baru Air Itam is warded at the Penang Hospital and a 39-year-old lorry driver from Bagan Lallang, Butterworth, at the Seberang Jaya Hospital. Both are in intensive care and reported to be in stable conditon.