70% Cure Rate Among Malaysian Children With Cancer

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has achieved an average of more than 70 per cent cure rate among children with all types of cancer who are treated at an early stage, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.

He said this rate was on par with those of developed countries, and in some cases, the cure rate was as high as 90 per cent.

'The good news that we want people to know is that childhood cancer can be cured if we can get them early. If the parents and children cooperate during the treatment regimes, then the cure rate is high.

'Generally the cure rate in Malaysia now is 70 per cent completely cured compared with 20 to 30 per cent among adults,' he told a media conference after launching a parent's guidebook on Children with Cancer, here.

Chua said that once cured, these children could go on with their life as normal persons and have families of their own.

He said that although the cancer rate among children in peninsular Malaysia for the past 10 years had increased 150 per cent, the important thing for parents was to ensure tat their sick child went for the early treatment.

'Leukaemia or blood cancers constitute half of those chilhood cancers, and then, for boys, cancer of the brain is the second highest and the second highest for girls is eye cancer,' he said.

Chua said there were now three cancer treatment centres dedicated to treating children in the country. One is the Paediatric Centre in the Kuala Lumpur and the others are Ipoh and Kuching.

'We are planning to upgrade four more treatment facilities in the next few years, namely in Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Baharu and Kota Kinabalu, for this purpose.'

As for specialists, he said there were now 13 paediatric haematologist-oncologists, five of whom are with the ministry, six in the universities and two in the private sector.

The ministry also planned to propose the setting up of a National Cancer Institute under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Bird Flu twice as deadly

Now this is scary.
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HANOI (Reuters) - Up to 70 percent of people who have contracted bird flu in the latest Asian outbreak have died from the virus, making it twice as deadly as the last outbreak in 1997, a Hong Kong doctor said Sunday.

Eighteen people have died so far -- 13 in Vietnam and five in Thailand -- and the virus has been reported in 11 countries.

China confirmed the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu had been detected in a further six provinces Sunday, while Japan banned chicken imports from the United States after a milder strain of bird flu was discovered in Delaware.

"The data suggests it (mortality rate) is in the range of 60 to 70 percent, so we are quite shocked by this," David Hui, a specialist in respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told Reuters Television. "Last time (in 1997), the mortality rate was 30 percent."

Hui said there was little evidence that the virus was being spread by anything other than contact with sick poultry, but it was unclear why the H5N1 strain was this time more lethal or why only two countries had reported human deaths.

"This is a puzzle...we are trying to find out: Is the virus changing in structure? Is it becoming more virulent? Is the clinical spectrum different from 1997?" he said.

Hui is one of four experts from Hong Kong who arrived in Vietnam Sunday to join World Health Organization (WHO) efforts to contain the bird flu outbreak.

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Let's hope this outbreak never reaches Malaysia

Malaysia's Human Resource Ministry checks farm workers at 75 poultry farms

MELAKA : Malaysia's Human Resource Ministry inspected 75 poultry farms nationwide over the last two weeks to ensure the health and safety of farm workers following the outbreak of the bird flu in surrounding countries.

Dr Fong Chan Onn said his ministry was cooperating closely with the Health and Agriculture ministries to ensure that the bird flu virus is kept out of poultry farms and aviaries.

"My ministry has provided guidelines and the procedures that employers should follow to ensure farmhands are not affected by the bird flu virus, if any," he told reporters after opening a health seminar on Saturday.

He said the Department of Safety and Occupational Health (DOSH) would continue with its farm inspections in collaboration with the relevant ministries. - CNA

SARS cost Malaysia $3 billion

According to this report - Economic losses from SARS - quoting the Asian Development Bank :

Singapore lost some $8 billion in business revenue; South Korea, $6.1 billion; Taiwan, $4.6 billion; Thailand, $4.5 billion; Malaysia, $3 billion and Indonesia, $1.9 billion. Vietnam lost only $400 million.
China and Hong Kong, which were hit the worst, lost $17.9 billion and $12 billion in business revenue, respectively.

Ensuring poultry farm workers are protected

PUTRAJAYA, Feb 12:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To ensure workers at poultry farms are not ex-posed to possible avian flu, the Cabinet has roped in the Human Re-sources Ministry.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr Fong Chan Onn said his ministry would work closely with the Agriculture, Home, Health and Defence ministries.

"Our role will be to protect workers against the disease," he said after chairing the ministry's post-Cabinet meeting today.

He said all workers at bird farms must strictly abide by the directive issued by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health to wear protective gear at all times when handling birds.

"This directive also applies to those in wet markets, zoos and shops," he said, adding that so far, the depart-ment had checked 75 farms and all had adhered to the guidelines and directives.

He said DOSH enforcement offi-cers in all States have been told to check bird farms and shops and submit a report.

Fong said complacency over the threat of bird flu and other such contagions could lead to a RM50,000 fine and three-year jail term under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

"No one can afford to be complacent. It's important that everyone co-operate to ensure that our farms and workers are free of the deadly disease," he said.

He said anyone entering a bird farm or pet shop must adopt protective measures, irrespective of whether they were members of the public, enforcement officers or operators.

The deadly H5N1 strain of the disease has killed five people in Thailand and 14 in Vietnam, but so far health experts believe humans there have only been infected through contact with sick birds.

Until today, 11 countries — the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Pa-kistan, South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia — have reported outbreaks of avian flu.

Meanwhile, the Veterinary Ser-vices Department said it would con-tinue checks at bird farms until the avian flu outbreak was contained.

"We will still place Malaysia on high-risk alert," Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Hawari Hussein said.

He said the focus was on the bor-ders and entry points, including airports and ports.

Malaysia has banned imports of all livestock, meat, eggs and poultry-re-lated products from countries affected by avian flu.

Importers have been advised not to import the banned items. If found doing so, the items would be confis-cated and disposed of.

Until yesterday, Dr Hawari said, the department had checked 3,968 establishments — chicken farms (2,612), layer farms (388), cross-bred chicken farms (75), duck farms (195), pet or bird shops (123), bird sanctuaries (five), quail and all other bird farms (237), wet markets (300), and chicken abattoirs (33).

Penang Hospital starts first patient-run cafe

PENANG: The Perak Road Psychiatric Ward of Penang Hospital has started a cafe run by its patients – the first of its kind in Malaysia.

Penang Hospital consultant psychiatrist and head of department Dr Lau Kim Kah said yesterday that current and former patients running the cafe had been given proper training by the hospital staff.

He added that the cafe, called Kafe Penyayang, was under the Circle of Care programme sponsored by Janssen-Cilag.

The programme conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Psychiatric Association is organised at psychiatric departments in major hospitals.

“We have two helpers from the hospital guiding the patients to cook and serve customers.

“At any one time we have about four to five patients working in the cafe that is opened from 8am to 1pm,” he told reporters after the hospital’s director Dr Zaininah Mohd Zain launched the cafe yesterday.

Also present were Penang Mental Health Association president Datuk Mary Ritchie, and Janssen-Cilag product specialist Albert See and sales manager Ching Feei.

The cafe, formerly known as the hospital’s Psychiatric Welfare Canteen Body, was tendered to outsiders before the programme was introduced in May.

Dr Lau said patients who worked in the cafe were paid RM5 to RM6 daily, depending on their work functions.

“This cafe would help patients earn some income after they are discharged, when society does not give them a chance to secure a job outside.

“Therefore we want to help them as much as we can,” he said.

He added that by giving the patients a chance to work at the cafe, it also exposed them to a work environment and at the same time allowed them to sharpen their communication skills with others.

See said that under the Circle of Care programme, the Malaysian Psychiatric Association had received US$15,000 (RM57,000) from Janssen-Cilag to carry out national-level programmes.

French team develop trial Nipah vaccine

PARIS, Feb 10 (AFP) - French scientists, working with Malaysian colleagues, announced Tuesday they had developed a trial vaccine for Nipah virus, a new and deadly disease, which had worked successfully in lab animals.

Nipah, which induces flu-like symptoms that often lead to encephalitis and a coma, jumped the species barrier from fruit bats to pigs and then to humans in Malaysia in October 1998, and there have since been outbreaks in three other Asian countries.

The prototype vaccine induces an immune response by expressing two glycoproteins located on the surface of the Nipah virus that the agent uses to enter human cells.

Hamsters injected with the experimental vaccine developed neutralising antibodies that prevented infection, a press statement issued by the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) said.

In addition, blood serum taken from immunised hamsters that was then injected into other hamsters also gave them immunity, which is a good sign of a strong response.

"The results open the way to the potential development of new vaccines to protect human populations living in risk areas where the virus holes up," Inserm said.

The virus draws its name from Nipah, a village near Kuala Lumpur, where it was first detected.

In 1999, 256 people in Malaysia fell sick with the disease, and four out of every 10 patients died.

More than a million pigs, the direct source for transmission to humans, were slaughtered to help curb its spread.

The virus has since been detected in Bangladesh and northern India, in 2001 and 2003, and in Cambodia in 2002.

The vaccine work was carried out by teams from Inserm and France's Pasteur Institute, as well as from the University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

The study appears in the January issue of a specialist publication, the Journal of Virology.

Stricter watch on fags sales

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi launched a nationwide anti-smoking campaign Monday and called for stricter enforcement of the law to prohibit the sale of cigarettes to those under-18.

Abdullah said that the anti-smoking habit should be instilled among the young right from school to ensure that they were aware of the negative effects of smoking to prevent them growing into adults who were smokers.

“My message (to our children) is, take care, don’t be easily influenced into taking up smoking by your peers. Don’t be ashamed to say no.

“The adults too should stop smoking as it will not do them any good,” he said when launching the campaign which carries the slogan ‘Say No!’ at the Putrajaya Convention Centre here.

Abdullah advised parents who smoke to try to stop the habit as it serves as a bad example to their children.

Abdullah said that the role of teachers and parents was vital in guiding the younger generation to stay away from cigarettes as it would affect their studies and their health.

Statistics reveal that about 8 per cent of the estimated 4.6 million smokers in Malaysia represents students. It was found that 50 to 60 teenagers start smoking every day.

The government has allocated RM20 million a year for the next five years for the anti-smoking campaign to prove its commitment to curb the smoking habit among Malaysians.

Abdullah said that he and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had managed to stay away from cigarettes altogether.

“But I dare not say that anyone who does not smoke will become Prime Minister,” he said in jest at the launching, attended by some 3,000 students.

The Prime Minister said he hoped that by not smoking, the younger generation would emerge as outstanding students, sportsmen and also workers and leaders who could contribute towards the nation’s success.

Later, asked at a media conference on the rampant sale of cigarettes to teenagers, he said: “We have to improve our enforcement to be more effective.”

Abdullah said that the campaign was not only aimed at reducing the number of smokers, it was also to discourage non-smokers to remain that way.

“The campaign is for all levels of society and students are the main target,” he said.

He said that the anti-smoking campaign should continue to be held to ensure that there were fewer smokers in the country.

“If we were to continue with the campaign, like prohibiting smoking in certain places by putting up signs, we hope the number of smokers among Malaysians will be reduced eventually,” he said.

Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng told the media conference that the persuasion approach would be adopted in the campaign through direct education based on scientific facts.

Earlier in his speech, Chua said that women and teenagers account for an increasing number of smokers as a result of promotion by tobacco companies in expanding their respective marketing network.

“Unfortunately, smoking is regarded as stylish and in keeping with the lifestyle of a section of the society.

“It’s true that the public must be explained clearly pertaining to smoking so that they can make a wise choice when faced with the pressure to smoke,” he said.

A series of anti-smoking advertisements will be aired by the electronic media to outline the negative effects of the smoking habit like lung cancer, heart disease and stroke which may lead to death.- Bernama

Nationwide campaign on gastric cancer

IT is the fifth most common cancer in Malaysia but the mortality rate is as high as cervical cancer. Yet, stomach cancer or its clinical term, gastric cancer, is relatively unknown due to a lack of awareness of its symptoms and causes.

Recently, a nationwide campaign on gastric cancer was held in four cities — Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and Malacca.

It was jointly organised by the National Cancer Council (Makna), the Academy of Family Physicians and the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Also taking part was Abbot Laboratories (M) Sdn Bhd.

Ling Hea Sieng, Abbot’s division manager of pharmaceutical product division, says the campaign was aimed at increasing public awareness on the seriousness of the illness, which can be prevented with early detection.

"People do not realise that stomach cancer can be treated if they seek early treatment. Because of this, the mortality rate is as high as that of cervical cancer."

She says that based on research, chances of stomach cancer patients leaving the hospital alive are lower than these of any other diseases.

In 2000, the discharge rate of stomach cancer was at seven per cent compared to other forms of cancer. The rate was even lower in 2002, at 5.6 per cent. Many stomach cancer patients are diagnosed and treated when the cancer is already at stage three or four, she says.

"Often, the early symptoms of stomach cancer mirror that of heartburn, indigestion or ulcer. They would then take some form of medication to ease the pain.

"As a result, many of the cases had reached the advance stage, spreading to the other parts of the body before it is discovered," says Ling.

According to the National Cancer Registry, the risk of stomach cancer starts to increase after the age of 40. The rate in males was about 1.5 times higher than in females. Chinese had the highest rate, more than four times that of Malays, who had the lowest. Indians rated about three times that of Malays.

However, among Indians, the men had an incidence rate of only 10 per cent more than women.

Gastric cancer can develop in any part of the stomach and may spread throughout the stomach and also to the liver, pancreas and colon. It can also spread to the lungs, the lymph nodes above the collar bone and the ovaries.

Ling says a lack of awareness that stomach cancer can be prevented by simple treatment and diet has lead to the high mortality rate.

One of the major causes of stomach cancer is the infection of helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria.

"Sixty per cent of stomach cancer cases have been associated with H. pylori infection. The bacteria has been classified as a class one carcinogen."

Class One status is reserved for the most dangerous carcinogens, most likely to be connected with the development of cancer in humans.

H. pylori, which lives in the stomach lining, is found in 20 per cent of people aged 40 and younger, and 50 per cent of those who are 60 or older.

In his study, Professor K.L. Goh from the Gastroenterology & Hepatology Division in Universiti Malaya, says that H. pylori infection causes inflammation of the stomach lining which may result in gastric, ulcers and stomach cancer.

He adds that H. pylori infection is likely to spread from person to person through the mouth, saying that eating practices in some countries may be the reason, such as the use of chopsticks.

Communal eating, the sharing of food from the same bowls and eating with hands may also be factors for spreading H. pylori.

Other risk factors for stomach cancer include consumption of salted, smoked or pickled foods, smoking and family history.

Research shown that stomach cancer is more common in China, Japan, Korea, parts of Eastern Europe, and Latin America because people in these countries eat foods that are preserved by smoking, salting or pickling.

"We believe that Chinese are more prone to stomach cancer because of genetics and food. The Chinese like to eat pickled food. The H. pylori infection is very high in China until today," says Ling.

On the campaign, Ling says it has increased public awareness on stomach cancer, adding that many realised that a simple check could determine if they are infected with H. pylori.

"The best thing to do if you are suffering from stomach pain is to have doctors do a H. pylori test. It is a simple and inexpensive test. And if you are infected, a simple treatment would help get rid of the bacteria."

Research by the Universiti Malaya faculty of medicine has found that H. pylori infection can be successfully eradicated with triple therapy, based on antibiotics plus an acid blocker.

It said that a 90 per cent eradication rate was achieved with a one-week treatment of the triple therapy.

A total sum of RM23,516.30, which was raised during the campaign, was donated to Makna for its cancer education efforts.

Pet store owner in Malaysia tests negative for bird flu

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A Malaysian pet store owner who has been quarantined in a hospital and is being tested for possible avian flu, has tested negative for the disease.

Malaysian officials had earlier said that the 40-year-old man who lived in Kota Bahru, a northern city close to Malaysia's border was hospitalised recently with flu symptoms.

"The man is being warded for observation and to determine whether he is a victim of the deadly virus. It is just a precautionary measure," said director of communicable diseases at Malaysia's Health Ministry, Ramlee Rahmat, of the man who breeds birds.

Veterinary Services Department Director-General Hawari Hussein said the store in Malaysia had been closed temporarily and initial results indicated none of the birds there were infected with the virus. More comprehensive test results were expected on Monday.

If the case is confirmed, it would be Malaysia's first case of bird flu, which has swept through Asia, killing 13 people in Vietnam, five in Thailand and prompting the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens in the region.

Malaysia has reported no cases of bird flu so far, and has stepped up checks at entry points with affected countries, including Thailand, to prevent infected people or animals coming in. - CNA

Health Experts Seek Help in Combating 'Neglected' Diseases in Developing Countries

Some hundred health experts from two dozen countries met in Penang, northern Malaysia in an effort to draw attention to what is seen as inadequate research on disease treatments in the developing world.
Delegates are concerned millions of people are dying each year from illnesses that modern science could cure.

Delegates belong to the Neglected Diseases Group and they say governments and researchers need to devote more resources to finding new cures for diseases common in the developing world.

These diseases kill millions of people each year. They include malaria, tuberculosis, meningitis, sleeping sickness, dengue fever and leishmaniasis.

The director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, Dr. Bernard Pecoul, says in the past 25 years more than 1,200 new medicines have been developed. But only 16 of these, less than one percent, were to treat tuberculosis and tropical illnesses. In addition, he says, of the estimated $60 billion spent annually on research and development of new medicines, less than five percent is spent on these neglected diseases.

"There is this huge gap between the progress that science has been able to make during the last 20 years and the translation into concrete tools to improve quality of life of people," he said.

One of the organizers of the conference is Doctors Without Borders. The head of its Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, Ellen t'Hoen, says the choices on which new medicines to develop are being made increasingly by large multinational corporations.

"As a result, the new drugs that are being developed, the investments that are being made in health research and development more and more follow the direction of where profits can be made, which is not necessarily the same as where the health needs are," she said.

As a result, she explains, new medicines are emerging for diseases like cancer, diabetes, asthma and hypertension, which afflict people primarily in the industrialized world. This is good, she says, but a lot of effort is also going into medicines for less threatening conditions, like baldness and sexual dysfunction.

Dr. Pecoul says this lack of attention is due not only to market failure but also to public policy failure.

"Usually in a society, when a market is not working, we need to have investment from the public sector to compensate for the most vulnerable people, for the most disadvantaged people. And it's not the case," he said.

Ms. t'Hoen says two key questions need to be answered. The first is how to set better priorities for health research.

"Question No. 2 is, how can we find better ways of financing research and development? The model at the moment, which is through higher drug prices, delivers some research and development," she said. "But only people in wealthy countries benefit from that."

Dr. Pecoul says that the private sector must also be stimulated to participate, because without it progress will be slow. "These private partners have a lot of molecules, a lot of products in their libraries that they are not using at all. So what we'll try to have is access to these products and try to move these products into the research process," he said.

Delegates say there is a lot of waste in the system and there are less costly ways to develop new medicines.

In addition, they want developing nations to participate more actively in the process. For, although they may not have the resources to produce the next blockbuster drugs, they can contribute ideas on how to improve their people's health and develop new models for reaching that goal.

Keep an open mind on traditional medicine, docs told

KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors have been urged to keep an open mind on the use of traditional and complementary medicine in keeping with global trends.

Health Minister Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said the philosophy and policy of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was to see greater integration between traditional and complementary medicine and allopathic or western medicine.

“It is the policy of this ministry to promote traditional and complementary medicine, which may or may not be included in health supplements.

“If we were to exclude that, it would not be healthy and not in line with developments in the rest of the world – especially the developed countries, so we hope everyone will keep an open mind,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Chua added that the ministry’s director-general would meet doctors to discuss the issue.

On Monday, Malaysian Medical Association president Dr N. Arumugam was quoted as saying that the association had banned doctors from selling health supplements since last April.

The Malaysian Dietary Supplements Association (Madsa), however, expressed surprise over the ban as it implied that supplements were detrimental to health.

Madsa said supplements that had been on a typical doctor’s prescription list included iron for anaemic patients, calcium for osteoporosis and folic acid for pregnant mothers.

Prestigious medical journals such as the Journal of the American Medical Association and New England Journal of Medicine had also supported the use of health supplements, it added.

Malaysia Medical Tourism Gets Facel

A young Dutchwoman has beaten Malaysia's savvy businessmen to a lucrative new business sending European clients home from hideaway holidays with bigger breasts or a facelift.

Price and privacy are the big drawing cards, says Marloes Giezenaar, a 26-year-old MBA who has reshaped 65 clients since setting up "Beautiful Holidays" on Penang island off Malaysia's north-west coast some 18 months ago.

For around the same cost as cosmetic surgery in their home countries her clients get the surgery plus the chance to recuperate during a two-week holiday in a four-star hotel far from the prying eyes of acquaintances.

The most popular treatments, in order, are breast augmentation, liposuction, tummy tucks, facelifts and nose jobs, Giezenaar told AFP in a recent interview.

"In Britain a breast augmentation with implants is between 3,000 and 5,000 pounds ($5,400 to $9,000), depending on what kind of clinic you go to.

"With us, including the flight from Britain, two weeks in a four star hotel, plus the surgery, all the transport, all our advice, it comes to about 3,000 to 3,200 pounds," Giezenaar said.

The idea for "Beautiful Holidays" came to the curvaceous six-foot blonde, who has had her lips plumped but no other cosmetic work, when she completed her MBA in Singapore, where her father was NEC computers managing director and vice-president for Asia-Pacific.

"I have a lot of friends in Europe who had cosmetic surgery and I always thought the recovery was very slow — weeks of sitting at home, but they still had to go to the supermarket and do domestic chores while they were healing.

"When I came to Asia I found that many wives of expats had things done here because it was so cheap and the results were practically the same as in Europe. They also recovered a lot faster because they all had maids so could sit around doing nothing.

"So when I got my MBA, it was, am I going to work for one of the big consultancies or one of the big corporates and work 70 hours a week for somebody else's money and somebody else's profit or am I going to try my own thing."

With investment from a venture capitalist in Holland she first set up a "new media" company, Bridgethree Sdn Bhd, designing websites and doing other IT work in Penang's high-tech tradition.

When that was up and running, she began "Beautiful Holidays", and says that while Bridgethree has a bigger turnover, the cosmetic holidays are more profitable.

"I was very cocky when I came from my MBA, thinking I would break even in two years, but it takes three, although Beautiful Holidays will do it sooner than that as there are not a lot of overheads."

Giezenaar works with a Malaysian plastic and cosmetic surgeon who practiced for several years in Britain. She does the marketing, mainly through her website, word of mouth and brochures at European beauty salons and gyms, arranges the consultations, flights and accommodation.

"It has been a big success," she says, adding that she has no competition in Malaysia.

Several Asian countries, including Singapore and Thailand are targeting "medical tourism" as a growth area, and Giezenaar is co-chairman of the Health Tourism Promotion Taskforce of the Penang Tourism Council.

"The people I get don't usually go for humongous Pamela Anderson boobs. They are professionals or housewives with children, so they just want fuller, firmer breasts and they go one or two cup sizes up," she says.

R&D efforts vital to fight emergence of new diseases

The nation needs to conduct more research and development (R&D) in the medical field to enable the country to combat the emergence and re-emergence of new diseases, Health Ministry deputy director-general Datuk Dr Ismail Merican said today.

He said it was also important for the country to have more trained personnel and scientists and most importantly, a good infrastructure to realise the effort.

"Over the years, we have been affected by the Nipah virus, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the latest, being the avian flu.

"We cannot predict what is next but if we have a strong R&D base, I am confident Malaysia will be able to deal with all these medical threats," he told reporters after opening a two-day meeting on neglected diseases group at the Paradise Sandy Bay Hotel here.

Present were Access to Medicine Campaign Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) director Ellen T. Hoen, 2002 Nobel Prize winner for medicine Sir John Sulston, Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiatives (DNDI) president Dr Yves Champey and event organising committee chairman Professor Dr V Navaratnam.

About 100 participants from over 20 countries attended the meeting, jointly organised by the National Centre for Drug Research, Universiti Sains Malaysia and the international humanitarian medical organisation MSF.

Acknowledging that the nation had learnt a bitter lesson during the the Nipah virus outbreak in 1999, Dr Ismail said the country would now have to keep track with the global scenario to ensure the country could better prepared itself in times of "trouble".

"This should not be a one-man battle but one which involves the people of the world," he said, adding that apart from R&D, human behaviour also played a vital role to fight new diseases.

Malaysian lifeline for Mayo

Malaysian lifeline for Mayo
- Healthcare group offers Rs 250-cr revival plan for ailing hospital
DEEPANKAR GANGULY
It is just what the doctor ordered — all the way from Malaysia — for an ailing hospital on Strand Road.

A healthcare organisation of Southeast Asia has put forward a mega proposal to revive north Calcutta’s Mayo Hospital. The Rs 250-crore revival plan is now with the state government and will be discussed between representatives of the Malaysia-based Health Solutions and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, said officials.

If the revival package, to be funded by Babcock & Brown Asia-Pacific, is implemented, Mayo Hospital will be converted into a 1,000-bed, state-of-the-art healthcare facility.

The government has recently constituted a three-member team — principal secretary (health) Asim Barman, local MLA Sudhanshu Sil and assistant director (health) S.K. Raychaudhuri — to oversee the hospital’s revival.

Both figures — Rs 250 crore and 1,000 beds — are huge by Calcutta standards, admit state health department officials. Ten per cent of the beds are likely to be reserved for the free treatment of lower-income-group patients.

Health Solutions executive director Desmond Foo, in a letter to state health minister Surjya Kanta Mishra early this year, proposed to undertake a contract to give the hospital a makeover and then operate and manage it in conformity with international standards.

Business manager of Health Solutions Fok Poon Keong, in his communique, pointed out the inherent potential of Mayo Hospital. “It is strategically located to provide secondary and tertiary medical facilities currently lacking in the entire northeastern sector of India and has a potential catchment area beyond the country’s international boundary,” the letter added.

The hospital — after the revamp —would be adequate to respond to future challenges, Keong added in assurance.

Health Solutions executive director Foo, Babcock & Brown Asia-Pacific managing director Willy Lim Chong Meng and bank associate Wong Yuen Hoi are likely to come down for the meeting with the chief minister, said officials.

The 250-bed Mayo Hospital was closed down about 15 years ago for want of infrastructure. According to principal secretary (health) Barman, Eastern India Institute of Medical Science and Research Hospital took up a joint venture revival project with the state government in 1999. But hardly any headway has been made in last four years.

Then, Bijon Majumdar of the B.K. Group came up with the Malaysian proposal. “Health Solutions has decided to use Calcutta as a stepping stone for its investment in healthcare facilities in India,” said Majumdar.

Mercy to the rescue

THE Malaysian Medical Relief Society, or Mercy Malaysia, was established in 1999 to provide medical and humanitarian aid to war-torn Kosova. Since then, it has sent missions to India, Indonesia, Turkey, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iraq and Sri Lanka.

While many Malaysians have read about Mercy Malaysia's derring-do in medical and humanitarian relief efforts abroad, few realise the extent of the organisation's work in the country.

Mercy's chief operating officer Mohd Shah Awaluddin said its domestic efforts consist of disaster relief, drug rehabilitation assistance and community programmes.

Since Malaysia is a relatively disaster-free country, Mercy's work concentrates on complementing the efforts of the Government and non-governmental organisations in providing relief to victims of disasters such as floods and fires.

"Our services include medical relief in the form of mobile medical clinics, food distribution and other relief items like clothing and blankets," he said.

Given its participation in disaster relief work in foreign lands, the organisation conducts ongoing preparedness training so that members will be ready to respond quickly should the occasion arises.

"These domestic programmes are also a training ground for our volunteers for international relief. We are raising our standard of humanitarian relief and we want to be on par with other countries," he said.

In the area of community work, Mercy despatches mobile medical clinics to rural communities and urban squatter communities.

"Our mobile clinics are quite unique. Apart from providing medical treatment, we have dental and psychological intervention prog-rammes, non-medical motivational programmes for children and distribution of relief items. So it is a hybrid-type of mobile clinic rather than just one that solely provides medicine," Mohd Shah said.

These community and disaster relief programmes are also run by Mercy chapters in Penang, Perak, Johor, Pahang, Kelantan and Sabah. One more will open in Sarawak soon. With the help of the Royal Malaysian Navy, Mercy conducts routine health check-ups at the mobile clinics. It hopes to gradually introduce a dental programme to all its chapters. It has already started its first mobile dental clinic in Grik at its community programme in Kampung Bongor.

Mercy Malaysia is also actively involved in its Drug Rehabilitation Assistance Programme (DRAP) which it launched last year.

"We realised that what we are doing internationally may not be similar to what we have in the country," said Mohd Shah.

Identifying drug addiction as a major problem, Mercy believes that as a homegrown organisation they have to do something about it.

"In our rehab programme, we assist former drug addicts to integrate back into society. We are not actually, at this point in time, rehabilitating or treating active drug addicts," he added.

Working with the National Drug Agency and a few community-based rehabilitation centres like Pengasih and Ulu Langat's Rumah Sahabat, the programme is divided into several units: humanitarian and outreach, economic, medical, training and awareness.

Mercy Malaysia provides assistance through home visits, counselling and motivational programmes.

One such motivational programme which it conducted last year was "Riang Ria Aidilfitri", which gave ex-addicts a chance to mingle with children from a local orphanage.

A shopping trip, conducted under close supervision, was a resounding success, with the ex-addicts playing "big brother" to the children.

They helped the children to colour Hari Raya cards and to select their festive clothing.

"Acceptance of ex-addicts is very difficult because of the stigma of drug addiction," said Datuk Dr Jemilah Mahmood, president of Mercy.

"The involvement of active drug users in the recent rape and murder of Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani has created more problems and reinforced the stigma against ex-addicts who are sincerely trying to reform."

"We should correct public perception and help them realise that not all drug addicts are rapists and murderers. There are 800,000 drug addicts in Malaysia. Of this number, only a small percentage commit crimes. A significant number are trying hard to be better people."

Programmes such as "Riang Ria Aidilfitri" helped reformed addicts to feel needed and useful to society.

The added benefit of such a match-up, she added, was that it allowed the orphans to enjoy some much-needed attention as well.

Mohd Shah said that rather than blaming drug users for their addiction, a holistic approach should be taken towards their rehabilitation.

Addiction is a debilitating disease which affects both the mental and physical aspects. It is sometimes the result of the inability to cope with the demands of modern living.

"People with hypertension, cancer and diabetes are given the opportunity to be treated and loved. Not so with drug addiction which is a sickness nonetheless," he said.

Another stumbling block which ex-addicts face in successful reinte-gration is securing employment.

According to both Mohd Shah and Dr Jemilah, the present hostile climate towards drug addicts has not improved matters for ex-addicts hoping to integrate back into society. Many lost their jobs after the Nurul Huda incident.

In the meantime, the economic unit of DRAP is busy compiling a database of prospective employers who are willing to hire ex-addicts.

Dr Jemilah has spoken to a few contractors and bricklayers who are willing to train them in manual labour skills.

She hopes that in future, when manpower and funds are stronger, the ex-addicts will be able to venture into construction work.

"My dream is to get them involved in volunteer construction work. In 1999, a Singaporean non-governmental organisation enlisted the help of reformed ex-addicts to rebuild some villages destroyed by the earthquake in Turkey.

"Upon their return to Singapore, society welcomed them back as useful human beings. We would not necessarily have to venture overseas, but we hope we can start doing something similar in the country with Mercy," she said.

Her suggestion was for the ex-addicts to do community service, repairing kampung homes that were damaged or in bad shape.

"We provide the materials to patch up the houses and we give them an allowance so it will improve their morale,"

Mercy has one special request for its DRAP programme: the help of more male volunteers. At present, most of the volunteers are female and the ex-addicts sometimes find it difficult to open up to members of the opposite sex.

Check swallow farms for avian flu

Dr Edmond See, Sungai Petani
2:19pm Wed Feb 4th, 2004

I would like to congratulate the government for taking precautionary steps to prevent the current strain of avian influenza from spreading into our country. It is a relief to know that the authorities here have the foresight to include migratory birds in their list of animals suspected of carrying the flu virus, instead of only confining it to poultry such as chickens and ducks.

Although it has not been scientifically proven that wild birds can harbour the germ, it is always safer to be comprehensive rather than lackadaisical in the practice of preventive medicine. Therefore, it is encouraging to note that the authorities are conducting tests in areas where migratory birds converge and the public is being advised to avoid contact with these birds.

However there is one particular field, which the scientists and authorities have failed to recognise as a potential threat to our nation’s health. This is the cultivation and rearing of swallow birds in premises meant for business, in towns all over Malaysia.

In the past few years, buildings have been converted to resemble the habitat of these birds and various methods have been employed to attract the swallow birds to build their nests in these locations.

read more on this interesting letter to Malaysiakini

Supplements sale ban poser

The Malaysian Dietary Supplements Association (Madsa) today expressed
surprise over the ban by the Malaysian Medical Association on doctors selling health supplements.
In a Press statement, Madsa, which represents a group of companies selling dietary supplements, said the ban implied that supplements were detrimental to health.

On Monday, MMA president Dr N. Arumugam was quoted as saying that the association had banned doctors from selling health supplements since last April.

Madsa said there were supplements that had been on a typical doctor's prescription list, including iron for anaemic patients, calcium for osteoporosis and folic acid for pregnant mothers.

In fact, some supplements have entered mainstream medicine, such as the omega-3 fish oil used in the prevention of heart disease.

Prestigious medical journals such as the Journal of American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine had also supported the usage of health supplements, Madsa added.

In view of this, it said it was seeking clarification from the MMA on the move, as it ran counter to the Health Ministry's emphasis on the importance of supplements.

90 per cent of patients who underwent open heart operations are smokers :
KUCHING, Feb 4:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smokers made up over 90 per cent of the patients who underwent open heart operations at the Sarawak General Hospital's cardiac centre since its establishment over two years ago.
The hospital's cardiology unit head Dr Sim Kian-hui said today that 672 people underwent operations at the centre since it was opened in October, 2001.

He added the other patients operated on suffered from heart problems arising out of high blood pressure, high level of "bad" cholesterol, diabetes and genetics.

Speaking to reporters after calling on Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg, he said most of the patients who went for the open heart surgeries were between 45 and 52 years old.

"This is very disheartening because young people are suffering from heart problems in Malaysia while in western countries, the average ages of people having the heart operations are 65 to 70 years," he said.

Dr Sim and other staff of the cardiac centre met Abang Johari to brief him on the 7th annual scientific meeting of the Malaysian Association for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery which is scheduled to be held here from July 9 to 11.

The scientific meeting is expected to be attended by about 400 heart surgeons and medical specialists from Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Italy, Japan and Malaysia.

The conference is listed in the Sarawak'a 2004 tourism calendar of events. Themed "Cardiac patients in the era of emerging techniques and technologies", it is organise by the Sarawak General Hospital's Cardiac Centre Staff Association.

Abang Johari said the meeting was in line with the ministry's aim of making Sarawak a health tourism destination. He added that health tourism was a new area Sarawak wanted to develop.

About 3.2 million tourists visited Sarawak last year compared to about three million in 2002.

Abang Johari said the number could be more had it not been for the worldwide outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and the Iraq War.

"This year, we are projecting about four million arrivals," he said.

Disinfectant sprays at Sarawak border - FEB 4, 2004

INDONESIAN travellers entering East Malaysia's Sarawak state are being sprayed with disinfectant in a bid to prevent the spread of bird flu.

State Agriculture Department staff at the Serikin checkpoint also sprayed disinfectant on the tyres of vehicles entering the country from Kalimantan, the New Straits Times said.

The department, with the assistance of the police and military, is mounting 24-hour checks along the border with Indonesia to prevent the smuggling of poultry into the country.

Several Indonesians have been turned away for attempting to bring in chicken through Serikin, about 70 km from the state capital Kuching. -- AFP

Bird Flu Watch: Malaysia on full alert, says Chua

MUAR, Feb 3:
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The country is on full alert against any outbreak of the bird flu, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said today.
He said tests on chicken farms by the Veterinary Services Department nationwide showed no sign of the virus.

He said security forces at the Malaysia-Thailand border were also stepping up checks to prevent smuggling of chicken products and livestock.

Chua said strict enforcement was needed to stop any attempt to smuggle in dressed chicken from Thailand which is sold at RM3 per kilo there compared to RM5 per kilo in Malaysia.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and will act swiftly if the need arises,” he told reporters after attending two Gong Xi Fa Cai celebrations organised by Chinese associations and community here.

Chua said the ministry was also concerned over the re-emergence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in China and fears in Vietnam that pigs might have caught the bird flu, which could result in a new and powerful strain that could be passed on to humans.

He called on private hospitals and clinics to notify the ministry immediately of suspected bird flu victims.

In the event of an outbreak here, he said measures similar to those used to contain SARS would be put into effect.

Chua also advised those returning from countries affected with the bird flu or with symptoms such as sore throat, fever and cough, to seek immediate treatment.

Sabah bans chicken imports from West Kalimantan

KOTA KINABALU Feb 1 - Sabah has imposed an immediate ban on imports of chicken and related products from Indonesia following reports of bird flu outbreak in West Kalimantan.

State Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Ismail said the ban covered all types of chicken, turkey, pheasant, quail, geese, rooster, eggs, hatching eggs as well as frozen and processed chicken.

"The ministry is seeking the cooperation of the authorities manning the border between Sabah and Kalimantan, particularly in Tawau, to help enforce the ban," he said in a statement Sunday.

Neighbouring Sarawak has also imposed a similar ban.

Rahim urged traders, air, sea and land passengers from Indonesia not to bring in the banned products into Sabah.

"All enquiries on the ban can be directed to the Sabah Veterinary Services and Animal Industry Department," he said.

Rahim said Sabah was still free from the deadly birdflu virus and his ministry was monitoring all chicken farms in the state to detect any signs of disease.

The ministry would also conduct checks on migratory birds to determine whether they carried the killer virus, he added.

Weaker US dollar leads to higher medicine prices

PETALING JAYA: The depreciation of the US dollar will have an “indirect effect” on the price of medicines and health supplements if American manufacturers import raw materials from countries with currencies which have appreciated against the greenback.

Boehringer Ingelheim general manager (Malaysia/ Singapore/ Brunei) Tan Ki Sing said main currencies like the euro, Swiss franc, sterling pound and Australian dollar were becoming stronger.

“Therefore, the cost of products would be higher if manufacturers imported raw materials from European countries and Australia.

“This is the reason for the increase in the price of medicines and health supplements lately,” he added.

Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society president John Chang advised consumers to switch to local products if they could not afford the imported items.

“We should support products made in Malaysia as they are also of good quality,” he said.

Fairchem Pharmacy Sdn Bhd pharmacist Elaine Khoo said the price of medicines and health supplements manufactured in the US saw the most obvious rise compared to items from European countries and Australia.

“The price of these items have increased to about 50% last month. In the end, consumers will be the ones who feel the pinch as we have no other way but to pass the cost to them.

“However, it will not affect pharmacies or consumers much as we can always switch to cheaper brands,” she said.

Yahoo! News - Bird Flu May Have Passed Between Humans

Does this spell bad news for Malaysia and the rest of Asia?:

---------------------------

HANOI, Vietnam - Two sisters who died of bird flu in Vietnam may have caught the disease from their brother, in what would be the first known case of human-to-human transmission of the illness in its current outbreak, the World Health Organization (news - web sites) said Sunday.
The source of the two sisters' infection has not yet been conclusively identified, said Bob Dietz, a WHO spokesman in Hanoi.

"However, WHO considers that limited human-to-human transmission from the brother to his sisters is one possible explanation," he said.

Laboratory tests in Hong Kong verified that the sisters, aged 23 and 30, had been infected by the H5N1 bird flu virus, he said.

Vietnam now has a total of 10 confirmed cases of bird flu — eight of whom have died. One 8-year-old girl remains in a Ho Chi Minh City hospital while a 4-year-old boy has recovered and been discharged.

Seven of the cases are children under 14 years of age.

"The investigation failed to reveal a specific event, such as contact with sick poultry, or an environmental source to explain these cases," WHO said of the sisters' deaths. "At the same time, such exposures cannot be discounted, either."

The two women became sick after attending their brother's wedding reception. Their 31-year-old brother died Jan. 14 but was cremated so no samples were available to determine whether he also had bird flu.

The sisters, whose identities have not been released, were admitted to the Institute of Clinical Research for Tropical Medicine on Jan. 13 and died Jan. 23.

Health officials have said they believe the disease is contracted through contact with sick chickens. Up until now, there has been no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

Health officials have warned of the danger that the bird flu virus could combine with a human influenza virus. The two flu viruses could swap genes, resulting in a hybrid with the virulence of bird flu and the contagiousness of human flu, triggering a possible global flu pandemic.

Avian influenza has swept through Asia, infecting millions of chickens in at least 10 countries. Thailand has reported two confirmed human deaths. Governments have been scrambling to destroy the infected birds in a bid to contain the epidemic's spread.

There were instances of limited transmission between people of the H5N1 virus during an outbreak of bird flu in Hong Kong in 1997 which killed six people. That outbreak never developed into a significant public health threat.

Database on patients with SARS, bird flu symptoms:

A nationwide database on patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and avian flu symptoms is being planned.

Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said the Government was concerned about the reemergence of SARS in China and the avian flu outbreak in 10 countries that had claimed 10 lives. The ministry's concern came in the wake of fears in Vietnam that pigs may have caught the bird flu which could result in a new and powerful strain that could be passed on to humans.

"The compilation of database on patients with SARS and avian flu symptoms is part of our national surveillance programme to ensure no one in the country is infected with the diseases," Chua said at his Chinese New Year open house in Bukit Damansara today.

He said government hospitals, clinics and health centres had been told to start compiling information of patients, including foreigners, coming in with the symptoms. They were also told to ask if the patients had been to countries affected by SARS and avian flu.

"Specimens from patients suffering from the symptoms such as atypical pneumonia will be sent for laboratory tests," he said.

Government hospitals, clinics and health centres have to send their database, including laboratory test results, to their State Health Departments which in turn will send the data to the ministry.

"We will then study if there has been a dip or rise in the number of people suffering from flu, atypical influenza and atypical pneumonia. The report will also reveal whether the victims were suffering from normal pneumonia or whether there is a need for concern," he added.

An AFP report today said that Beijing had reported a new confirmed case of SARS, bringing the number of confirmed cases in China to four.

Meanwhile, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam have reported outbreaks of avian flu in poultry, while Taiwan and Pakistan have reported weaker strains of the virus.

The virus has claimed 10 lives, eight in Vietnam and two in Thailand.

"Private hospitals and clinics will also help in the national surveillance," said Chua.

Asked whether the avian flu was more serious than SARS, Chua said it was not as the flu was transmitted from poultry to humans, and not from human to human.

"Although no cases of SARS or avian flu have been reported so far, the nation is on the alert with tight security at the borders to prevent the smuggling of livestock from affected countries."

‘MedikTV’ goes on call

The programme launch of ‘MedikTV’ gave the VIP guests, including Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Jui Meng, the jitters when one of the production crew passed out on the stage.
Nurfarahin Jamsari, who is the co-host of the weekly medical programme, was about to introduce the crew on stage when one of them had a heart attack. Panic then ruled the floor.
The minister was aghast, and health experts from several specialist hospitals in Klang Valley were awestricken. Should we help?
The MedikTV production crew, one a plastic surgeon and the other an orthopaediatrician, were on hand to perform CPR, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, while others gripped their seats in fear.
The MedikTV senior broadcast journalist survived, of course, as it was just an act, but what if it wasn’t? Would the general public know how to react?
At the press launch, MedikTV asked and made an important statement – don’t ignore your health.
The half-hour programme aired live every Saturday at 5.30pm is packed with crucial health facts to exterminate mythical beliefs on certain medical conditions.
The station’s chief executive officer Datuk Farid Ridzuan said the programme would give the audience an in-depth report on the issues it tackled without the jargon.
“The programme will be informative yet not filled with medical jargon. We want our viewers to be able to understand the diseases or ailments and seek proper treatment,” said Farid.
The programme, however, received feedback on being too brief, giving the audience and the issues discussed limited time on air, despite being well-researched.
“We’re aware of this and if the need arises we will extend the airtime accordingly,” said Farid.
The programme helmed by senior producer Mazlin Nordin underwent four months of research before any production works.
“None of the production crew had medical training, let alone been doctors. But we have to put together this programme, understand the issues and let it reach our viewers,” said Mazlin Nordin.
Mazlin understood the challenge to equip the crew with medical knowledge in order to produce a factual, credible and serious programme like MedikTV.
“The time spent on research was unlike any other programmes that I did before,” said the senior producer whose experiences include producing Majalah 3, Nona and Misteri Nusantara.
“MedikTV’s approach is different. We have to be specific and there’s no room for guessing. Everything is factual, detailed and correct to the issue, right down to pronunciation.”

The MedikTV crew has sought co-operation from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital to advise and counsel.
The hospital generously ‘loaned’ two of its young experts to partake in the show: Dr Mohamed Nasir Zahari and Dr Ismail Saiboon.
Dr Mohamed Nasir co-hosts the programme with Nurfarahin, who regularly appears in Malaysia Hari Ini (TV3 morning talk show) advising on health matters.
Dr Ismail assisted the crew on emergency tips, for example how to perform a CPR and other medical matters featured on the show, right down to correct pronunciation and jargon translations.

“They’re a boon to the show,” said Mazlin.
The programme got the crew donning surgical masks and sterilised robe to film surgeries in operation theatres.
“If the operation takes 10 hours, they will have to stay until the end.”
Patients’ privacy are also looked into as they will have to sign an agreement to be documented on the show.

One thing worries Mazlin – keeping the show human.
“That’s the most challenging aspect of the show. We can get loads of information but to research for a human angle is even more difficult. Without it, the programme will become dry and banal.”
The programme features patients fighting diseases and other conditions. Some cases even lead to tragic aftermaths which altered their whole lives.
“What we offer are insights into the lives of these patients, how to deal with these conditions, and what options are available.
“We also talk on the symptoms of these conditions, so that our audience will be more aware of their health, and therefore help them make better decisions,” said Mazlin.

Popularity of the show is on the rise judging from the call-ins.
“We can only take two calls but the lines are jammed,” she said.
According to Farid, if everything goes well, including viewership rating and interest of sponsors, the programme will be extended and a second season will be considered.

MedikTV is aired every Saturday at 5.30pm.

Malaysia prevents bird flu outbreak effectively: minister

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- The measures taken by the government so far had been effective in preventing outbreak of the bird flu in Malaysia, Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said on Friday.

"Although many countries, including our neighbors, have been affected by the outbreak, we are still safe," he told a press conference at his office here.

Chua said Malaysia was prepared to face the outbreak and had taken initial preventive step by banning poultry imports from Thailand, apart from drawing up specific action plans if the disease spread to Malaysia.

He said his ministry had not received any reports of the bird flu or avian flu virus attacking the poultry bred in the country.

So far, 10 people -- eight in Vietnam and two in Thailand -- died of the epidemic, while countries like South Korea, China, Cambodia, Laos, Japan, Pakistan, Chinese Taiwan and Indonesia haveconfirmed the spread of the virus to the World Health Organization(WHO) in Geneva.

Chua said if the outbreak reached Malaysian shores, the first step that must be taken was to destroy the chicken and ducks in the farms to ensure the virus did not infect human beings.

"This step has been taken in Hong Kong, the United States and in the Netherlands not long ago, it proved successful to contain the disease," he said.

Chua also urged livestock breeders to monitor and submit reports to the ministry as soon as possible if they spotted signs of infection in their animals besides carrying out immunization.

The ministry had also ordered hospitals and medical laboratories to be ready to face the possibility of having to dealwith the virus like conducting early diagnosis of the disease, quarantine or monitor the affected areas, he said.

He said the Veterinary Services Department had also been asked to monitor bird sanctuaries and other locations to detect if the bird flu virus was carried by migratory birds.

Earlier, Chua attended a meeting in Bangkok, which discussed the bird flu outbreak along with agriculture and health ministers from the region, besides officers from the European Union, the United States, World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Enditem

Don't import chickens with bird flu, farmers told

POULTRY farmers have been told not to import chicken affected by bird flu, Sin Chew Daily reported National Public Health Laboratory consultant virologist Dr Chua Kaw Bing as saying.

He said poultry farmers should learn from the Nipah virus outbreak which was caused by a small group of pig farmers who purchased affected pigs due to low prices.

Dr Chua urged poultry farmers to follow the directive from the Agriculture Ministry and the Health Ministry.

The daily also reported that the Federation of Livestock Farmers’ Association of Malaysia as urging poultry farmers to report to the Veterinary Services Department if a large number of chickens died in their farms.

The association’s broiler unit chairman Yap Kim Hwah said this would enable the officers from the department to collect samples for tests to prevent any possible spread of the bird flu.

Yap said locally bred chicken was safe to consume and he had not received any reports of local farms being affected by the bird flu.

He said the department had also instructed the poultry farmers to increase hygiene standards at farms.

Yap said his association would brief members on the directives from the department so that they would carry out the preventative measures.

Nanyang Siang Pau quoted Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Hawari Hussein as saying his department would intensify random checks to ensure locally bred chicken would be safe for consumption.

He gave assurance that affected chickens and eggs would not be on sale in the market.

Meanwhile, Sin Chew reported that the United Chinese School Teachers Association, or Jiao Zong, has urged those accepted for study in the Chinese Language section of the Teacher Training Colleges to report to their colleges.

Jiao Zong hoped they would become primary and secondary school teachers after undergoing the training as they could help ease the lack of Chinese language teachers in schools as well as contribute to Chinese education.
--
Note: Dr Chua Kaw Bing is the discoverer of the Nipah virus

M'sia prepared to cull chickens if need arises


MALAYSIA said yesterday it remains free of the bird flu that has hit regional neighbours Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia - but is ready to take measures that could include the mass slaughter of chickens should the need arise.

Contingency plans, including practices 'institutionalised after the Nipah outbreak, are already in place', said Health Minister Chua Jui Meng.

In a one-year period over 1998 and 1999, the government oversaw the slaughter of more than a million head of swine, as well as some cats and dogs, in a bid to stem the outbreak of the Nipah strain of the Japanese Encephalitis virus, which claimed about 100 lives.

The Agriculture Ministry's Veterinary Services Department 'already has a plan and we are happy with the plan' in the event that bird flu is detected in Malaysia, Mr Chua said yesterday.

Singapore's Agri-food and Veterinary Authority said on Monday that it will curtail imports of live chickens from Malaysia, estimated at some 120,000 a day, should bird flu spread to Malaysia.

Malaysia's poultry farming industry is almost self-sufficient, and the latest figures from the Agriculture Ministry show the country exported RM580 million (S$259 million) of live poultry, processed chicken and eggs in 2001.





According to data released in the Economic Report 2004 in September last year, the government expects output of eggs and poultry this year to increase 16.2 per cent and 13.8 per cent respectively.

Poultry farmers continued to remain upbeat yesterday, although investors on the Malaysian Securities Exchange (MSEB) sold down poultry-related counters for a second straight day.

'We are not affected as there have been no cases of the virus in Malaysia,' said Alex Ding, group managing director of DBE Gurney. DBE, which is among the top five live-broiler producers in Malaysia, intends to proceed with plans to expand operations to include producing frozen chickens and chicken parts for exports, he said.

DBE's RM14 million initial public offer for a second board listing on MSEB closes this week.

Malaysia: High alert against unusual flu cases

MALAYSIA is on high alert for any unusual deaths among its poultry stock and any spike in human flu cases despite barring chicken imports to prevent the avian influenza from entering the country.

Officials said they are prepared to start culling livestock if the bird flu infects animals.


Malaysia produces more than one million chickens a year and Singapore imports live chickens - some 120,000 a day - only from Malaysia.

Malaysian Customs and veterinary officials are keeping an especially close watch on the porous Malaysia-Thai border for any attempt to bring in poultry from Thailand.

'There must be no smuggling of chicken. This happened during the Nipah virus outbreak,' said Health Minister Chua Jui Meng yesterday. When the deadly Nipah virus struck Malaysia's pig population in 1999, unscrupulous farmers breached quarantine rules by smuggling out infected pigs to uninfected farms.

This led to the disease spreading throughout the country. More than 100 farm workers died as a result.

'I want to ask Malaysians not to be tempted by cheap prices and engage in smuggling,' Datuk Chua said.

He said procedures for dealing with any possible outbreak of the avian influenza had been institutionalised and was based on lessons learnt during the Nipah and Sars outbreaks.

Health officials at all government clinics, especially in the rural areas, have been asked to report any unusual flu cases, particularly among farm workers.

Farm workers and government veterinary officials are also on the lookout for unusual deaths among the chicken population.

Datuk Chua said government laboratories have so far only detected the human flu virus among cases sent for tests.

'It is very comforting. So far, there has been no big jump in flu cases,' he added.

The minister will attend a meeting in Bangkok today on the bird flu crisis.

Malaysia to cooperate with Singapore and ASEAN to contain bird flu

SINGAPORE: Malaysia's Health Minister said his country will work with Singapore and other ASEAN countries to prevent the bird flu from spreading.

Speaking to reporters in Singapore, Mr Chua Jui Meng says ASEAN Health Ministers will meet in Thailand next week to discuss the issue and prevent the smuggling of birds and animals across borders.

"We have banned the imports of meat as well as live chicken from Thailand. That's done by their agriculture ministry and health officers, public health officers are working very closely with the vets to make sure there's no infiltration of any animals or birds illegally.

"The Ministry of Health is helping to advise the farmers to protect themselves in the unlikely event of any infection but there is none so far in Malaysia and we intend to keep it that way," said Mr Chua who was part of the Malaysian delegation on a visit to Singapore led by Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

The deadly strain of avian influenza has killed six people in Vietnam and had infected both humans and chickens in Thailand. - CNA

Chicken products from Thailand banned

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 23:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Malaysia has banned with immediate effect the import of live chicken, eggs and chicken meat from Thailand following an outbreak of bird flu in the kingdom.
Thailand has also voluntarily stopped all chicken exports following the confirmed cases of bird flu in the country today.

Thai medical authorities also announced the first death of a person suspected to have contracted the disease, a 56-year-old man who raised fighting cocks at his home.

Agriculture Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today that he had asked Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Hawari Hussein to inform all importers of the ban.

He said the ministry had initially suspended the import of live chicken and eggs several days ago following reports of possible bird flu cases in Thailand.

"With confirmation now, we are banning imports totally," he said. The ban remains effective until further notice.

A similar ban is imposed on Vietnam where another 17 people are believed to be infected with the H5N1 strain of avian influenza which has also been reported in Japan and South Korea.

Meanwhile, wire agencies confirmed yesterday that two Thais have caught the bird flu which has already killed five Vietnamese.

"The result from the Department of Medical Science said two were positive and one was negative," Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said, referring to tests on three patients.

The two, boys aged six and seven from different provinces west of Bangkok, were in "critical but stable" condition, she said.

Children appear most at risk. No one knows why, but four of the five killed in Vietnam were children.

Bird flu affects people who have come into contact with diseased chicken. The first symptoms are fever and bronchitis.

The World Health Organisation has expressed fears that bird flu could evolve into an epidemic worse than SARS. The European Union, Hong Kong and Bangladesh have also banned Thai poultry.

Leong Hup Holdings Bhd executive director Datuk Francis Lau, one of the country's largest producers of chicken, said that Malaysia was self-sufficient in meeting the country's chicken demand and imports very little chicken meat for processing.

"Malaysia is free from the avian influenza," Lau added.

"We produce RM400 million worth of chicken meat per year, and less than five per cent, about RM20 million worth, is imported.

The Leong Hup Group operations cover poultry breeding, slaughtering, processing and retailing. Its products are marketed under the brand name of "Ayam A1". Its breeder farm is one of the largest in the country producing about 100 million chicks a year, about 26 per cent of the local market.

In Brussels, Alberto Laddo-mada, a European Commission expert in animal health told a news conference, that there was only a tiny risk of people catching bird flu by eating infected poultry meat.

"It's unlikely humans would get the infection from eating poultry meat," Laddomada, said, adding that people were catching bird flu after being in contact with poultry.

There is no evidence of the virus jumping from human to human, a doomsday scenario where bird flu in poultry and the virus in humans would mix to unlease a killer bug similiar to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, he added.

MALAYSIA BUSINESS BRIEFS: Pantai Buys Cheras Hospital
KUALA LUMPUR (Dow Jones)--Malaysian health care group Pantai Holdings Bhd. (8036.KU) is buying hospital operator Cheras Medical Center Sdn. Bhd. for 8.8 million ringgit ($1=MYR3.80) which will be paid through the issuance of 8.3 million new Pantai shares. Pantai is also buying a piece of land and a five-storey hospital building - where Cheras Medical Center operates - for MYR25.4 million, which it will pay for by issuing 24.0 million new shares.

Health Minister: No avian flu cases in Malaysia

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s poultry industry is not affected by the recent outbreaks of avian flu in the Asia region and the world situation is being watched closely, said Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng.

“As far as we are concerned, there is no avian flu in the country. The Institute of Medical Research as well as the laboratory technicians with the Veterinary Services Department are monitoring the situation,” he said.

Chua said the ministry had issued an advisory to the department on guidelines for farmers should there be an outbreak in Malaysia.

“It is a precautionary measure which I am sure is taken by other countries.

“The advisory is based on scientific evaluation, which is part of modern agriculture,” he told reporters after the official opening of the Regulation and Safety of Dietary Supplements in Safeguarding Public Health seminar yesterday.

Asked for details of the advisory, Chua said it was drawn up based on lessons learnt from the JE, Nipah and the recent SARS outbreaks.

“It serves as a reminder to farmers. Usually protective clothing is used to protect the animals as human beings can infect animals.

“But in the event of an outbreak, the clothing can provide protection for farmers. It is part of good agricultural practice,” he said, adding that other measures included preventing importation from affected countries.

Chua said the issue was brought up at the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and the Health Ministry and Agriculture Ministry had been directed to take action as required based on current developments.



“The Public Health Division has also been watching the situation closely through the World Health Organisation’s website and is also contacting our counterparts in the affected countries,” he added.



When asked if there was any advice for Malaysians travelling to Vietnam, South Korea and Japan, he said it was not likely that Malaysians would visit chicken farms.



On the three suspected SARS cases reported in Singapore, he said Malaysia was working closely with Singapore to monitor the latest developments.

Malaysia on high alert against bird flu

KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia is on high alert against the bird flu virus following the recent outbreak of the disease in Vietnam and Japan.

It plans to impose a ban on avian products from all affected countries to try and keep its poultry industry disease-free.

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Malaysia, one of the biggest poultry exporters in Southeast Asia, said its top priority now was to prevent the importation of the disease by banning all avian products from the affected countries.

Health Minister Chua Jui Meng assured the public that Malaysia is free from the disease, according to studies done by the ministry's Institute of Medical Research.

But while the poultry industry is not affected by the current outbreak in Vietnam and other countries, he stressed the need for precautions.

Mr Chua said: "It is our mission and duty to ensure this does not take place in this country. We have sent advisory to departments to advise farmers on actions to be taken in the unlikely event there is avian flu in this country."

Besides preventing the importation of the disease from affected areas, Malaysia chicken farmers are also advised to step up precautionary measures including putting on protective clothings at all time."

Mr Chua said Malaysia's veterinary and health officials were working closely with the World Health Organisation to monitor the situation.

He said no travel advisory would be issued against visiting affected countries as it has not been proven that the bird flu virus can spread from human to human.

With Singapore a major export market for Malaysian chickens and ducks, the Health Ministry assured its closest neighbour that Malaysia will stay as alert when it comes to developments on the bird flu, as for the SARS outbreak. - CNA

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M'sia's largest private hospital eyeing Brunei

The biggest private hospital operator in Malaysia, KPJ Healthcare Bhd is planning to spread its wings to Brunei Darussalam in the near future.
In a statement, the private hospital said it has initiated talks with relevant authorities in Brunei Darussalam. The hospital is also interested in expanding their healthcare activities to other countries such as the Middle East, China, Indonesia and Singapore.

Initial talks to open doors for the hospital to operate here were held during the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) meetings in Kuala Lumpur recently. KPJ Healthcare's managing director Datin Paduka Siti Sa'adiah Sheikh Bakir said since the September 11, 2001 attacks, Middle East countries had shifted their focus away from the US and Europe for healthcare expertise.

KPJ Healthcare started 22 years ago and had developed enormous hands-on experience in almost every aspect of the healthcare business, right from the feasibility and design stage to the implementation and running of operations.

Other than hospitals, KPJ also provides support services such as retail of pharmaceutical products undertaken through PharmaCare Bhd, and a nursing college through Puteri Nursing College Sdn Bhd.

As for design and construction, it has already built a number of hospitals, including the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital and Damansara Specialist Hospital, using its own in-house design and expertise.

"We are already in talking terms with several interested parties locally and abroad to have working relationship in the management, building and commissioning, healthcare technical services, bio-technical engineering support and maintenance of their hospitals," she said.

In Malaysia, KPJ owns 11 hospitals, following the injection of nine from Kumpulan Perubatan Johor Sdn Bhd, Tawakal Holdings Sdn Bhd and Medical Centre (Johore) Sdn Bhd in late 2002.

Since its listing in 1994 until that injection, KPJ had only been operating two hospitals under its wing, the Johor Specialist Hospital and Ipoh Specialist Hospital.

Shortly there will be two more hospitals: one in Kuching will open for outpatient services business soon while the other in Seremban will be operational by April this year.

With the injection, KPJ is set to see improvement in its financial results in 2004. Its nine months to September 2003 showed pre-tax profit of RM17.95 million on turnover of RM375 million.

"Medicines, laboratory resources and even food could be procured through one centre and there should be tremendous savings just from these activities," she said.

She said KPJ had been able to maintain profitability as most of the hospitals in the group were "matured" and their healthy and well-balanced composition had enabled the company to manage its earnings at a profitable level.

Malaysia remains SARS-free

KUALA LUMPUR, Thurs:
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Malaysia, which remains SARS-free, will closely monitor the situation abroad as China reported a new suspected case today.
Health Ministry's Disease Control Division deputy director Dr Cheng Hoei Hom said Malaysia need not worry as all precautions have been put in place to ensure the disease did not reappear here.

She said the World Health Organisation had not issued any warnings yet as they were still confirming with China on the suspected case.

It was reported today that health officials in the southern province of Guangdong said a 20-year-old waitress was under quarantine at a hospital with SARS-like symptoms.

Practise hygiene, travellers told

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians travelling to China should practise a high level of personal hygiene and avoid coming in contact with people having Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) symptoms such as coughing, Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said.

He said that precautionary measures were necessary though the current situation did not warrant a travel restriction.

He gave this advice after the Chinese Health Ministry confirmed that a 32-year-old man down with SARS symptoms had the virus yesterday.

In an immediate response, Communicable Disease Control director Dr Ramlee Rahmat said that Malaysia would have to wait for World Health Organisation (WHO) advice on the next course of action.

However, he said the ministry had activated its surveillance and screening for SARS while hospitals were on alert.

“We are keeping tabs on the situation and doing all we need to do at the moment,” he said.

On a 31-year-old Malaysian woman isolated at Kuala Lumpur Hospital on Sunday upon her return from Guangzhou on Saturday with high fever, cough and sore throat, Chua said she was found to be healthy yesterday.

He said she would not be discharged until doctors were satisfied it was safe for her to leave.

“As of today, the patient’s fever was down, her chest X-rays were clear and she had no symptoms of SARS,” Chua said.

A ministry official said the woman was diagnosed to have suffered from viral fever, adding that results of specimens sent for testing at Institute of Medical Research would be known in a few days.

Chua said the ministry started screening passengers from Guangdong at four international airports - KLIA, Bayan Lepas, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching – since Saturday.

“Of the 3,270 screened so far, only one had fever,” he said, adding that the 31-year-old woman had visited Guangdong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai before returning to Guangzhou to board a flight back to KLIA.

Malaysia and S'pore screen Guangdong passengers for SARS

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia has begun screening airline passengers from China's southern Guangdong province following news of a SARS case there, a report said on Wednesday.
Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said staff had been put on full alert and had begun the screening process and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) preventive measures.

"So far, we have screened more than 440 passengers from Guangdong and all were given clean bills of health," Ramlee Rahmat, director for communicable disease control, was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times newspaper.

There are two flights daily from Guangdong into Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The health checks began on Monday.

All travellers from Guangdong are required to fill out health declaration cards, Ramlee added.

The SARS virus returned to haunt China for the first time in six months as a health official from Guangdong on Tuesday announced a suspected case in the province had been upgraded to a confirmed case.

SARS triggered a worldwide health crisis after emerging in Guangdong in November last year, causing 774 deaths and more than 8,000 infections, the vast majority in Asia.

The disease spread globally, devastating economies across Asia with travel and tourism sectors losing hundreds of millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, passengers from Guangdong are being subjected to stepped-up fever screening at Singapore's Changi Airport because of the suspected SARS case in the Chinese province, the health ministry said Wednesday.

A ministry spokeswoman said the special checks began on Saturday after China's health ministry announced a 32-year-old man in the southern province of Guangdong was a suspected SARS case.

"It's just a precautionary measure," she told AFP.

Arriving passengers from other countries normally pass in front of high-tech thermal scanners after they enter the terminal building.

Those from Guangdong are also being screened at the aerobridge which connects the plane to the terminal in addition to the normal checks.

"So they are screened twice," the spokeswoman said.

Fever is an initial symptom of SARS.

Feng Shaoming, spokesman for the Guangdong Centre for Disease Control, told AFP on Tuesday that the case was confirmed to be SARS, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it needed more time to complete its own diagnosis.

Feng said three experts from the WHO were in Guangdong's provincial capital Guangzhou and were going over the test results.

Singapore has been praised for implementing the toughest measures to contain SARS earlier this year. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said the city-state is better prepared this time for any recurrence of the epidemic.

Malaysia woos health tourists from Middle East

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) - Malaysia unveiled plans Tuesday to become a medical hub for Muslims with promises of halal meals at hospitals and doctors who pray before performing surgery.
The government will launch a publicity campaign in the Middle East early next year to encourage patients to seek health care in this Southeast Asian nation instead of traditional destinations in the West, where officials said some Muslims fear encountering anti-Arab sentiment and distrust.

"We'll be the world champion in getting people to come enjoy our medical services," Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Fadzir said Tuesday at a ceremony where health institutions agreed to boost efforts to attract foreigners.

Officials will organise information roadshows in the Middle East, publish brochures, screen commercials on the popular Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera and invite health authorities to Malaysia to endorse its facilities, said Abdul Kadir.

Former Malaysian diplomat Syed Hussein Al-Habsee said the campaign would focus on the Persian Gulf states of the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait, where he said health infrastructure lagged behind Malaysia.

Officials will emphasise that halal food is served in major hospitals, special prayer rooms are available and Muslim doctors hold prayers before operations, Syed Hussein said. Travel packages will include hassle-free visa and interpreter services.

Each year Malaysia treats about 100,000 foreign patients, mostly from nearby Muslim countries Indonesia and Brunei, said Ridzwan Bakar, head of the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia.

Patients from the Middle East have risen since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, with many bringing their families and spending at least two weeks in the country, Ridzwan said.

Foreign patients come for a variety of procedures, including heart bypass operations, hip transplants, infertility treatment, corrective laser eye surgery, dental work and cosmetic operations.

Treatment also comes comparatively cheap - a heart bypass patient would spend less than US$7,000 in Malaysia, double that amount in neighbouring Singapore and 10 times more in the United States, Ridzwan said.

The sector, which Malaysia calls "health tourism," brought 150 million ringgit (US$40 million) in revenue last year. Officials hope to triple it to more than 540 million ringgit (US$140 million) by 2005.

Health aid criteria eased

THE Finance Ministry has agreed to make it easier for applicants to receive aid from its Chronic Disease Fund, by raising the eligibility condition of RM600 monthly household income to RM1,500, Utusan Malaysia reported.

The easier condition is expected to be approved next month, it said quoting Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Suleiman Mohamed.

The decision was made following a discussion between the Finance and Health Ministries after a report revealed that there were no takers for the RM100mil fund, due to the strict criteria of rejecting applicants whose monthly household income exceeded RM600.

Dr Suleiman said RM600 was impractical as the poverty rate was RM1,200 in urban areasand RM300 in rural areas.

To date, he said, his ministry had only received RM1mil from the fund, which had yet to be used, as none of the applicants were eligible for it. He said the ministry would receive RM5mil from the fund next year.

“With the criteria eased, certainly more applicants will be eligible for it.”

Utusan Malaysia quoted a source, as saying that the Health Ministry’s RM1mil allocation this year could not be brought forward to next year because the money was in the form of management expenditure and no time frame was set to use up the annual allocation.