Flood victims suffering from mental stress, says Chua

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Some 1,500 flood victims have been found to be suffering from severe mental stress due to the devastation, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
Comprising adults, students and children, they suffer from excessive fear and sadness as a result of the loss of property, he said.
Hospital Permai in Tampoi and several non-government organisations had sent experts to counsel the victims, he said in an interview over TV3’s Wanita Hari Ini programme.
Dr Chua said 70% of some 45,000 victims who received treatment suffered chronic health conditions such as diabetes and kidney failure, while 30% had infections of the throat, respiratory tract and eye.
“We sent some of those in Kota Tinggi to hospitals in Johor Baru by helicopter or army truck for haemodialysis treatment,” he said.
He added that flood victims were screened for dengue and leptospirosis besides water- and food-borne diseases.
He said the ministry had since carried out awareness campaigns on post-flood diseases, and advised the people to clean up not only their houses but also their surroundings. Health officers would help with fogging.
On the post-mortem conducted by a hospital attendant and supervised by a pathologist in the case of murder victim engineering student Mohd Hosni Fadzli Mohd Amin, Dr Chua said the initial opening of the abdomen or sawing of the chest was a standard procedure that could be done by a hospital assistant or a junior doctor, but a surgeon would conduct the internal investigation.