May 21, 2009 17:44 PM

Malaysian Students Abroad Advised To Defer Holiday Travel If Unwell

PUTRAJAYA, May 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysian students abroad, especially in the United States planning to come home during the summer holidays are advised to defer their trips if they have any symptoms of Influenza A (H1N1) or flu or fever.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the same applied to other Malaysians overseas who were planning to return home, as well as tourists.

"Should they display any of the symptoms mentioned, they should quickly seek medical treatment," he told reporters here today.

Liow, however, said those who really wanted to come home were welcome and it was not a problem as adequate measures were in place to tackle the Influenza (H1N1) outbreak.

He also reminded them to fill up the health declaration form that would be provided on their flights accurately so that they could be easily contacted if necessary.

Liow, who just returned from attending a World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting in Geneva, said the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) in the southern hemisphere was also raised at it.

He said there was fear the virus would spread fast there because of the cold season now.

On the status in the country, Liow said as of this morning, no new cases of Influenza A (H1N1) were detected despite 16 people admitted to hospital yesterday for observation.

He said of the number, four were admitted to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, four to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, two at the Sultanah Aminah Hospital, Johor Baharu, two at Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital, Seremban, two at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu, and one each at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Kuantan and Penang Hospital. All were confirmed negative except for the two cases in Sabah which were still waiting for the test results.

He said the two United States citizens quarantined in Sabah for having come into contact with a Hong Kong person confirmed to have contracted the virus, were in good condition and would be released on Saturday if they do not show any symptoms of infection.

Also as of this morning, WHO reported that the number of countries affected by the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak remained at 41, but the number of cases detected rose to 10,587 with the death toll rising to 84 people.

Liow also said Malaysia was now in direct contact with China's Health Ministry which enabled timely updating on health issues, including the spread of Influenza A (H1N1) in that country.

"Previously, we had to go through their embassy here and China's Foreign Ministry first. Now we can communicate directly with China's Health Ministry not only at a minister-to-minister level but at the officer level as well," he said, adding that the agreement on this was reached at his meeting with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the WHO meeting in Geneva.

Similar cooperation had long been established among the 10 Asean countries and also with South Korea and Japan, he added.

-- BERNAMA

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