Health Dept bent on identifying source of Gerik malaria outbreak
GERIK: The Perak Health Department is determined to identify the source of the malaria in the Pos Kemar Orang Asli settlement that has infected 93 people so far.
State Health, Public Transportation, Non- Muslim Affairs, National Integration and New Villages Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said yesterday one source was suspected to be the workers building a road to Kampung Senangin in the settlement as well as a school in the village.
“The Health Department will take every measure deemed necessary to identify the source,” he said to reporters here.
Earlier, Dr Mah and Perak director of Health Datuk Dr Juita Ghazalie visited the malaria patients at the Gerik Hospital and the transit centre at the hostel of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Idris Shah II.
Dr Mah said the authorities had to put up with various challenges to ensure that every person suffering from malaria received due treatment.
“Some of the villagers, after having been positively diagnosed, are reluctant to get treatment. So, we continue with counselling and do whatever we can to bring them for treatment,” he said.
Since the outbreak on Nov 20, up to 93 people have been infected. Fifty- seven people have been admitted to the Gerik Hospital, among them 37 children aged 12 and below, and 12 people are being treated at the Kuala Kangsar Hospital.
Fourteen people have been placed in the transit centre for follow- up treatment for 14 days while two people are reluctant to leave their village and the remainder are in the process of being sent to hospital.
Those infected are aged between eight months and 60 years. — Bernama