KUALA LUMPUR: Six types of waterborne diseases have been detected among flood victims in active temporary relief centres (PPS) across the country, as of yesterday.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the diseases include acute respiratory infections, acute gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, chickenpox, hand, foot, and mouth disease, as well as Covid-19.
He said that out of 34,503 flood victims housed in the centres, 7,853 were confirmed to be suffering from these diseases by health teams.
"Among the victims, 7,304 were confirmed to have acute respiratory infections, 3,170 with acute gastroenteritis, 197 with conjunctivitis, 20 with chickenpox, 13 with hand, foot, and mouth disease, and two with Covid-19," he said.
"However, no victims were found to have other diseases such as typhoid fever or leptospirosis."
"For Covid-19 patients, the ministry has guidelines to prevent the disease from spreading, and we have isolated them," he added, noting that health teams will remain at the PPS at all times to conduct regular check-ups.
He made the remarks after officiating the International Medical Devices Exhibition and Conference (IMDEC) 2024, here today.
Currently, Terengganu and Kelantan are experiencing the second wave of floods, with several PPS reopening, while the number of victims in Johor and Pahang is also rising, surpassing 150 people.
In Perak, 42 victims are in two PPS, while in Melaka, there are no more victims in the centres, but authorities remain on alert as one district is still affected by flooding as of 4 pm today.