KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 3 (PNA/Bernama) — Malaysia has adopted precautionary measures following an outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in western Africa, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said Sunday.
He said the Health Ministry had strengthened preparedness and response activities, particularly at entry points into the country such as the KL International Airport (KLIA).
The National Crisis Preparedness and Response Center (CPRC) was monitoring and coordinating the preparedness and response activities in facing EVD, he said in a statement.
EVD broke out in March in western Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it infected 1,323 people up to July 27 and has killed 729 in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. The virus causes severe bleeding and has no known cure.
Dr Subramaniam also said that the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) had a laboratory that could detect the Ebola virus and government hospitals nationwide had facilities to treat patients.
International health experts say the only treatment available is either by oral rehydration therapy or intravenous fluids but very few of those infected survive as there is no vaccine.
Ebola is a haemorrhagic fever with a fatality rate of up to 90 percent. Chances of survival are higher if patients seek professional medical help as soon as symptoms become apparent.
Symptoms begin with a fever and throat and muscle pains and then develop into nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, which is accompanied by the decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. Many people at this stage also have problems with bleeding.
Dr Subramaniam said the ministry was also cooperating closely with the education and foreign ministries and government agencies such as the immigration department for the screening of visitors.
The Education Ministry had been advised to screen foreign students who had returned to EVD-infected African countries, he said.
The Foreign Ministry had been asked to issue an advisory for Malaysians in the EVD-infected African countries and those who would be travelling to those countries.
“All these precautionary and control measures were put in place following a WHO notification in March this year,” he said.
Dr Subramaniam said that in Malaysia EVD was a disease that required notification under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
“The Health Ministry will continue to monitor developments pertaining to the disease through information obtained from WHO and will issue updates from time to time,” he said.
