Diphtheria outbreak still under control — Dr Subramaniam - Mukah Pages : Media Marketing Make Easy With 24/7 Auto-Post System. Find Out How It Was Done!

KUALA LUMPUR: The diphtheria outbreak in Malaysia, which began last month, is still under control even though 15 cases have been reported so far.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam said this was because 95 per cent of the people in the country had received diphtheria vaccination and complete immunisations throughout their childhood.

Only the remaining five per cent of the population had yet to be immunised and hence, face the risk of being infected by the disease, he said.

“The latest case involved an adult and we are in the midst of investigating the victim’s background to see whether or not she received complete immunisations.

“Despite having recorded 15 cases, the outbreak of diphtheria in the country is still under control.

“This is not new because an outbreak involving a certain community at a particular time like this has happened before and we managed to overcome it,” he said after officiating the new name of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) here yesterday.

On Sunday, a housewife from Rembau, Negeri Sembilan, was tested positive for diphtheria, bringing the total to 15 cases with five deaths, namely in Melaka (three cases, one death), Kedah (seven cases, one death), Sabah (four cases, three deaths) and Negeri Sembilan (one case).

In George Town, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya called on patients suffering from diabetes, cancer or hepatitis B to take extra precautions to prevent infection of other diseases, including diphtheria.

“This is because the immune system of those who are suffering from these chronic illness is already weak and when they are weak, they could be easily infected,” he told reporters after opening the Malaysia-Thailand Science Integration Camp at Sekolah Kebangsaan Seri Relau yesterday.

“It would also be better if they could go to any health clinics to get vaccinated if they had not received it yet,” he added.

In Seremban, Health Department deputy director-general (General Health) Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said the condition of the 41-year-old housewife was not worrying.

He said the woman, however, was still under quarantine and in stable condition at Tuanku Jaafar Hospital, Seremban.

“Any immunisation will wear off over time. In this woman’s case, she did get complete immunisations throughout her childhood. She never get diphtheria infection before, but as she gets older, and with the various changes in her environment, her immunity level drops.

“That is why she is not in critical condition. In fact, she is stable.

“So, it proves that even with declining immunity level, her immune system still has the ability to fight the disease,” he told reporters after opening the Seremban 2 Health Clinic sensory integration therapy service yesterday.

The woman began receiving treatment at the Rembau Health Clinic last Wednesday after she complained of having a fever, swollen tonsils and a raspy voice as well as difficulty in swallowing. — Bernama