PUTRAJAYA, 16 May 2009: The Health Ministry today announced that the country’s second case of Influenza A (H1N1) has been detected in Penang.
The authorities are continuing efforts to trace passengers of Malaysia Airlines’ flight from Newark to Kuala Lumpur, which had flown in the two flu-stricken cases on 13 May.
Deputy Director-General of Health Datuk Dr Ramlee Rahmat said the second case was confirmed this morning and the patient, a friend of the first case who was under quarantine at the Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor, was under treatment at the Penang Hospital.
“The patient is in stable condition and does not have any fever now,” he told a news conference at the ministry here.
Ramlee said the patient’s family was being quarantined at home for seven days to ensure that they were free of the disease. He said they were in stable condition.
He also said the ministry had identified all the people who might have come into contact with the two patients on board the flight, MH091, from Newark.
He said Flight MH091 had flown in to Kuala Lumpur 192 passengers and 15 crew, and that 119 of the passengers were still in the country, comprising 81 Malaysians and 38 foreigners.
“The other 73 passengers had taken onward flights to other countries on the same day, [13 May],” he added.
Ramlee said 35 passengers had contacted the ministry and that the ministry had also circulated a list of the passengers in the country to all state health departments for follow-up action.
He said three passengers on transit in Malaysia on 13 May had also been quarantined at the Sungai Buloh Hospital for observation until 20 May.
Ramlee also said the ministry would issue a daily report on the meningitis outbreak in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, as well as the leptospirosis outbreak in Penang.
“It is unnecessary for the people to panic because the detection of fresh cases only shows that the national health system is operating at the optimum level,” he said.
In ALOR SETAR, one of the passengers on Flight MH091 went to the Emergency Department of the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital yesterday, said Kedah Director of Health Datuk Dr Hasnah Ismail.
She said the 33-year-old man was found to be healthy and was instructed to undergo quarantine at home.
She also advised two other passengers from Kedah who were on the flight to contact the hospital for an examination. — Bernama
