Ministry mulls move in bid to contain influenza A (H1N1) virus

Star: GEORGE TOWN: The Health Ministry is considering producing and distributing mobile test kits to doctors in a bid to contain the influenza A (H1N1) virus
Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said there were now three government and one private testing laboratories functioning as centres to test for H1N1 but they would be inadequate if the pandemic continued to grow.
‘‘Our hospitals and clinics will be overwhelmed by those seeking to be tested. We need to involve all health outlets to help in the test process,’’ Liow told a press conference here.
He said Malaysia was seen to be taking more stringent steps compared to developed nations such as the United States or Britain because it had been exposed to similar outbreaks in the form of the avian flu, nipah virus and other new strains of contagious diseases.
‘‘The US or Britain were not involved in fighting such outbreaks previously so they are not as experienced as we are.’’
‘‘It is better to take strong preventive measures instead of waiting to cope with an escalating outbreak. We do not want to create panic but to generate more awareness on fighting the H1N1 pandemic.’’
He confirmed that Malaysia had placed an order for 200,000 doses of the newly produced H1N1 vaccine and delivery was expected by December.
‘‘It will take time to administer the vaccine as we also need to test it at our end first.’’
He said the latest measures to fight the highly contagious flu would be unveiled after an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday.
The meeting would also involve representatives from all state governments.
‘‘We have a lot of work to do still. We need to brief many agencies and make preparations to cope with the pandemic, including allocating more hospital beds and isolation wards for it.’’