Liow: Meningitis outbreak under control

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has given an assurance that the diplococci meningitis outbreak in Malacca is under control.
The infection was contained within the Road Transport Department training academy and would not be a threat to the country, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
“Consult a doctor quickly if you have fever and body aches,” he said.
The first patient who died from the meningitis outbreak went to hospital too late, said Liow.
On May 4, a trainee at the academy in Tiang Dua, Malacca, died of the infection while being rushed to hospital.
Liow said the outbreak was investigated as soon as possible and it was then discovered that it was not a viral infection. This enabled the ministry to give the right medication to the patients.
As of yesterday there were 32 patients hospitalised with two in intensive care and 29 in the isolation ward in Malacca and another patient in Kepala Batas, Penang.
The number of trainees in the isolation ward increased from 18 from the day before, he said.
“They are all in stable condition,” said Liow, adding that they were being put on treatment and each treatment cycle takes one week.
The ministry would know in a day or two the subtype of the diplococci bacteria that infected the trainees, said Liow who witnessed the presentation of MS ISO 9001:2000 certificate by Sirim to Tung Shin Hospital.
Water samples were taken from three training places in Negri Sembilan, Johor and Malacca, and from a pond in Pedas, Negri Sembilan where some of them had swum in, he said.
Liow also said that the infection was spread through droplets and people are advised to close their mouths when they cough or sneeze.
At present, there are 89 people who are still quarantined. Another 234 trainees returned to their hostels but were not allowed to leave the academy.
Meanwhile Bernama quoted Kelantan Health Department director Dr Lila Mohamed Meeran as saying that the outbreak of meningitis did not originate from the East Coast state.
She said Mohd Hafiz Zainudin was down with fever and brain membrane infection a day before he returned to Kota Baru for a holiday on May 1.