KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has denied claims of a drastic increase in the number of influenza infection, reaching worrying level.
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry has taken cognizance of news being viralled among social media platforms on the increase in the number of influenza infections.
“For everyone’s information, influenza infections are not subject to reporting/notification requirements under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Act 342).
“Therefore, at MoH level, there is no record of every single case of influenza infection occurring in Malaysia,” he said in a statement, today.
Despite this, he said MoH was nevertheless monitoring influenza cases by using the proxy data recorded from the surveillance activities involving several known sentinel locations nationwide.
Dr Noor Hisham said for tropical countries such as Malaysia, influenza infection occurrences were reported throughout the year, but within a small range.
He said this was different compared to temperate and cold weather countries, where influenza infections occur seasonally - especially in winter.
As such, he said monitoring of influenza type activity was carried out throughout the year for identification of infection trends in Malaysia and has not detected any out of the ordinary changes involving the nature of influenza virus.
“Influenza surveillance monitoring includes cases comprising influenza-like-illness (ILI) as well as the admission rates of patients with severe acute respiratory infection (SARI).
“In addition, outbreaks related to respiratory tract infections are also monitored on a daily basis. The Sungai Buloh National Public Health Laboratory and the Medical Research Institute (IMR) are also responsible for monitoring any changes to the influenza virus in Malaysia”.
Dr Noor Hisham said based on trends recorded from the surveillance activity, there has been a slight increase in influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) cases since mid-December 2019.
“However, the recorded increase was still within the normal range and almost the same as the previous years. Similarly, there was no significant increase in the incidence of respiratory tract infections which was reported over the same period.
“The analysis of the influenza virus detected from the surveillance activity also showed no signs of mutation leading to the emergence of a new influenza virus (novel virus),” said Dr Noor Hisham.
He said that influenza is an infection with major symptoms such as cold or fever flu, sore throat, cough and other symptoms such as headaches, muscle aches, joints and exhaustion.
Flu, Dr Noor Hisham pointed out was quite contagious and therefore the contagion was more likely to occur in densely populated areas such as schools, hostels, closed workplaces, training institutions, and military camps or the police.
“Outbreaks caused by seasonal influenza viruses only cause mild flu (flu) in ordinary people but can cause severe infections to high-risk groups such as children, elderly, pregnant women and those with chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, fatigue and more.
“Complications due to severe influenza infections experienced by those at risk also has the potential to cause death,” he said.
Dr Noor Hisham said in this regard, the general public and high-risk groups in particular are highly recommended to obtain seasonal influenza vaccination offered by most private health facilities.
“As a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of influenza, MoH would like to remind members of the public to maintain a high level of personal hygiene, wash their hands regularly with soap and water or hand sanitizer, practice good cough manners and a healthy way of life.
For those with influenza infection symptoms, he advised to practice the following:
- Rest at home and not go to crowded places. If there is a need to be in public places, they are a
dvised to wear face masks to prevent infection through respiration;
- Cover nose and mouth with tissue, towel or handkerchief when coughing or sneezing as well as discarding used tissue into the nearest dust bin;
- Avoid sharing personal items such as towels, handkerchiefs and so on with other individuals; and,
- Consult your doctor immediately for an examination and further treatment in the event of severe symptoms such as fever and cough/persistent sore throat.