KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has to be prepared for any eventuality that the Wuhan coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of six people in the capital Chinese city, may spread here.
Professor Datuk Dr Zulkifli Ismail said despite such a possibility, it was imperative for the authorities to conduct strict border control since the zoonotic virus could spread between humans, as reported by foreign media.
Dr Zulkifli, who is Asia Pacific Paediatric Association secretary-general and standing committee member of the International Paediatric Association, stressed that visitors from China and returning from the republic must be screened for evidence of fever.
“Our border control has to be strict and despite this, we can expect there will be leakage of the virus into the country.
“Doctors on the ground must have a high index of suspicion for the virus,” Dr Zulkifli, a paediatrician, told the New Straits Times.
He said with the ongoing influenza cases in the country, it might become an issue among health officers and the public “trying to tease the difference” in detecting the new strain of the coronavirus (2019-nCOV).
“To date, 15 healthcare workers (in China) have been infected and the virus has spread beyond Wuhan.
“The coronavirus draws a parallel with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) except that the latter has higher infectivity and higher mortality rates,” he said, referring to the death toll from the Wuhan coronavirus in China, which has risen to six cases.
Echoing his statement was Malaysian Muslim Doctors Organisation president Datuk Dr Ahmad Shukri Ismail.
He, however, believed that the ministry was “aggressive” in its efforts to prevent the coronavirus from spreading into the country.
Apart from placing response teams at all international entry points and health facilities across the country on high alert, he said, the ministry had been engaging doctors and general practitioners on the outbreak.
He said the Pahang Health Department would conduct a briefing with doctors and general practitioners from private hospitals and clinics in the state at 10am today.
“Having said that, I hope the Health Ministry could be fair and hasten the distribution of vaccines to treat the ongoing influenza cases in the country.”
Dr Zulkifli and Dr Ahmad Shukri concurred with Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, who had urged the people to take precautionary measures by maintaining good personal hygiene.
“Prevention is better than cure,” Dr Noor Hisham posted on Facebook yesterday.
Dr Zulkifli said: “For the public, the usual advice as per other viral respiratory diseases still holds. Avoid unprotected contact with people with cold or flu-like symptoms, wash hands regularly and seek early treatment for suspected cases.”