Last week (March 11-17), the total reported cases stood at 460, way above the epidemic level of 327 cases, but much lower than the week before (March 4-10) with 757 cases.
The Ministry of Health has, since 1997 during the first outbreak of HFMD in Malaysia, collected data on cases nation-wide.
Based on the data, it determines that a state is at the alert level if it registers 217 cases or more, and declares that the disease is at an epidemic level if the cases exceed 327.
As of press time yesterday, no fatality has been reported. Of the accumulative 6,678 cases reported in the country, Sarawak had 3,144 cases – the highest of all states.
“Although there is no fatality and most are mild cases, we shall not take the disease lightly,” director general of Health Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman told journalists after attending a briefing at the Pesona Conference Room of Sarawak General Hospital here yesterday.
He said the ministry aimed at putting a stop to the transmission of HFMD — a very contagious disease among children aged 10 and below — and feared that schooling, which resumed today, might dampen the effort.
“In Sarawak, most cases involved children below five years old – most probably due to close contact, and by touching things and lack of personal hygiene.”
Dr Hasan said the drastic drop in number of cases recorded in the 11th week (from March 11 to 17) compared to the week earlier could be because of the school holiday.
Despite the decrease, he called on parents to keep their guard and learning institutions to comply with the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
“I know some parents have to work but it is your child we are talking about. If your child is unwell and have red spots on their hands, feet and mouth, do not send them to nurseries, kindergartens or schools.
“If you send your sick child who shows those symptoms to institutions, it is very unfair to other children and the institution concerned might face temporary closure.”
He pointed out that Malaysia had the experience in curbing the outbreak of HFMD since 1997, disclosing that during the first epidemic outbreak which was over a period of three months, 29 lives were lost.
Citing the latest outbreak, he said most cases reported in Sarawak started at homes, particularly where cleanliness and personal hygiene were neglected.
“The majority of cases happened in households which are crowded or due to poor hygiene. In addition, children are very dependent and parents have to take good care of them.”
Dr Hasan stressed that parents must pay close attention to the health of their children, and they must send them to clinics or hospitals if they show symptoms of HFMD.
As stipulated under the regulations, he said all clinics had to report HFMD patients to the authorities to help keep the outbreak at bay.
“Hence, we demand that doctors notify us. Given our experience all these years, we can keep it under control and we want to stop the transmission. Only when we bring down the number of cases could we ensure zero fatality.”
He assured that all hospitals including their intensive care units (ICU) had been put on the alert to treat children infected with the disease.
He also asked for strong co-operation from every individual to curb transmission of the disease.
Meanwhile, as of today, all pupils and students will be screened for HFMD at their school gates to prevent the disease from spiralling out of control.
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