KOTA BARU: Nearly 1,000 people including students from a secondary school here have undergone screening for typhoid fever.
State health director Datuk Dr Zaini Hussin said the tests were conducted after five students tested positive for the fever recently.
He added that the screenings by the ministry's health staff would run for three days beginning today.
"So far, we have screened nearly 1,000 people and they include the school's teachers, its administration staff and students, aged 13 to 17.
"We have to take this action to prevent the fever from spreading and to ensure students and the school's staff are not infected," he added.
On Tuesday, 22 students from a secondary school here were warded at two hospitals for typhoid fever.
Following the cases, the Kelantan Health Department declared a typhoid outbreak at the school.
As of June 30, five of the 17 students were confirmed with the fever while the rest were categorised as "suspected cases".