Haj pilgrims given health alert card to avoid MERS-CoV outbreak

KUALA LUMPUR: All Haj pilgrims are being given a Health Alert Card for them to monitor their health status for two weeks after returning to Malaysia.

“If they fall ill during that period, they are advised to immediately seek treatment at nearby health facilities.

“The move is crucial in facing a possible MERS-CoV outbreak in the country,” Health directorgeneral Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah told Bernama, here, yesterday.

His advice came after foreign news reports saying that two deaths had occurred in Jeddah and Buraidah, Saudi Arabia due to MERS-CoV last week.

Dr Noor Hisham said health screenings for fever and MERSCoV symptoms were being carried out on returning Haj pilgrims at all international airports nationwide.

“Those suspected of having contracted communicable diseases including MERSCoV will be referred to a pre- determined hospital,” he said.

According to Dr Noor Hisham, the ministry through its Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre had been receiving notifications on cases showing symptoms suspected to be MERSCoV from the health facilities nationwide since 2013, however, only one case was detected in April 2014.

He said according to the World Health Organisation, as of Aug 28, there were 2,067 confirmed cases of MERS- CoV, resulting in 720 deaths worldwide, and 82 per cent of the cases were reported by Saudi Arabia. — Bernama