Seventh H1N1 patient detected

Star: PUTRAJAYA: A female Australian student has been confirmed to be the seventh patient infected with influenza A (H1N1) in Malaysia, said Health Ministry director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.
He said the 15-year-old travelled with her mother from Melbourne on AirAsia X D7 2723 and arrived at the LCCT at 7am on Friday.
Her fever was detected when she went through the thermal scanner screening at the airport.
“She told our medical team that she had started having fever, cough and sore throat the day before arriving in Malaysia,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He said the girl was then referred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on Friday and admitted to a special ward.
“She was confirmed to be down with the disease the same day and given anti-viral treatment,” he said, adding that the girl was in stable condition.
He said the girl’s mother, who did not show any symptoms, had been placed under quarantine.
Dr Ismail said the AirAsia flight was carrying 258 passengers at the time.
“The ministry urges all passengers, especially those who were seated in Row 3 and those nearby, to quickly call us at 03-8881 0200 or 03-8881 0300 from 8am to 9pm.”
He said, so far, 143 people who had come into contact with influenza A (H1N1) patients had been put under home quarantine and that all were reported to be in good health and did not show symptoms of the disease.
Dr Ismail said 89 of them had been in contact with the student who returned from the United States, 46 with two German tourists infected with the virus, seven with a 28-year-old student who arrived from New York and one with the Australian girl.
“The ministry is tracking others who had come into contact with all these patients, including passengers who were on the same flights with them.”
He said the ministry had received 26 notifications of passengers with influenza symptoms on Friday.
“All these patients have been admitted to isolation wards in six designated hospitals for treatment and investigation.”
He said one of them was the Australian student, while 19 others tested negative for the virus. Six were still awaiting their results.