A(H1N1): Death toll rises to eight

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia reported two new influenza A (H1N1) deaths yesterday, bringing the total number of people who have succumbed to the disease to eight.
The seventh victim was a 24-year-old native woman who died at the Miri Hospital’s intensive care unit, two weeks after giving birth to her first child. She was the first A (H1N1) fatality in Sarawak.
The eighth victim was a 51-year-old school teacher who died in Seremban on Sunday, said Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican.
The Institute for Medical Research confirmed yesterday that the teacher had contracted the virus. Her tissue samples were tested after her death.
She had taught at a school in Selangor, which was closed on July 27 following the discovery of an A (H1N1) cluster there.
The onset of the disease began on July 23, and the teacher visited a general practitioner on July 27.
She went to the Sungai Buloh Hospital on July 30, and subsequently to the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital in Seremban on Sunday after experiencing a shortness of breath. She was admitted to the intensive care unit where she died.
The native woman was warded on July 17. At the time, she was already in an advanced stage of pregnancy.
The hospital helped her deliver a baby girl a few days later. The baby is healthy and has been handed over to the father, a labourer in his late 20s.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam said the state had stepped up the alert level.
“Nobody can take this disease lightly any more,” he said yesterday.
The Miri Hospital has stopped children from entering the wards unless they are undergoing treatment.
The elderly are also discouraged from the wards, while smokers are barred altogether.
Hospital director Dr Uma Devi said the tighter safety measures were aimed at protecting those with a weak immune system.