Chikungunya epidemic under control

NST: KUCHING: Nearly a month after an outbreak where 150 people were infected, the state government yesterday disclosed there was a chikungunya epidemic in coastal areas of Sri Aman and Betong.
Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan, who is also state Disaster and Relief Committee chairman said there were no deaths and the epidemic had been contained.
"The number of suspected cases reported is also fewer now," he said at a press conference to announce measures to tackle swine flu.
The chikungunya epidemic broke out in five coastal areas in the two divisions. The first case was detected on March 26.
State Health director Dr Mohd Kamil Hassan said Sarawak migrant workers who had worked in chikungunya infected states in the peninsula could have carried the virus back, adding there were thousands of Sarawakians working in Johor.
Dr Kamil said the poor environment in villages in the affected areas had also contributed to the outbreak.
The state Health Department had distributed mosquito nets to villages and carried out extensive fogging.
On swine flu, Dr Chan said the state had banned the import of live pigs and fresh pork products to curb the possible spread of the flu.
He said the ban, effective from Monday, would be in place until the threat was over.
The state imports about two per cent of its pork needs and Dr Chan said the ban would not affect the supply of pork.
To screen international travellers who could have visited swine flu infected countries, all passengers on direct flights from Pontianak, Singapore, Jakarta, Brunei and Macau into Kuching would now have to fill a health form similar to the ones that travellers are required to fill when flying into this country.
Dr Chan also said the Sarawak General Hospital here and the hospitals in Sibu and Miri had been designated swine flu quarantine centres.