Health D-G: Ministry, department keeping close watch on JE situation in Sarawak

KUCHING: The Ministry of Health ( MOH) and Sarawak Health Department are closely monitoring the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) situation in the state.

Health Ministry directorgeneral Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said although five cases were reported in Sarawak between January and June 23 this year, all cases were sporadic and no JE epidemic was reported.

“The af fected areas were in Samarahan, Lawas, Julau, Miri and Sri Aman with one case each,” he said in a press statement yesterday.

Dr Noor Hisham’s response came following a recent statement by the Health Department calling for caution after confirming that JE is endemic in the state.

“JE is endemic in all Asian countries including Malaysia. The JE Immunisation Programme was introduced in 2002 in Sarawak for the high incidence of JE cases in Sarawak, which was 55 cases in 1999 with an incidence rate of 2.61 per 100,000 population.

“Two years after the immunisation programme was implemented in the state, in 2004 the number of JE cases reported reduced to 22 cases and after 16 years of this programme, the number of JE cases decreased further to 10 cases in 2017,” he said.

Citing a study conducted by Wong et al . ( 2008), Dr Noor Hisham said since the programme in Sarawak, the rate of JE incidence for the 12-yearold under-age group in Sarawak decreased from 9.8 cases per 100,000 population to 4.3 cases per 100,000 population.

This, he added, clearly shows the successful implementation of the programme in Sarawak.

“Hence, MOH recommends that every parent in Sarawak ensures that their children get JE immunisation injections at the age of nine months and 21 months as set out in the immunisation schedule.”

He also advised local people to get immediate treatment if they have signs and symptoms of JE such as fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, mental state changes, neurological symptoms, weakness and disruption of movement.

Additionally, he said selfprotection practices such as using repellents and wearing bright clothes that cover the body can reduce the possibility of mosquito bites and subsequent JE infections.