KUALA LUMPUR, 20 May 2009: An outbreak of what is suspected to be the normal influenza or dengue has taken place at the Setia Ikhlas national service training camp in Semenyih, Selangor, requiring 30 of the trainees to be given treatment.
These trainees suffered from fever, slight cough, sore throat and body aches, Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said in a statement today.
He said 26 of the trainees were treated at the isolation room in the camp, three at the Kajang Hospital — one of them in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) — while one trainee has been discharged from the hospital.
An official of the Health Department, who declined to be named, said the trainee admitted to the ICU was suspected to have contracted dengue.
He said specimens had been sent for investigation.
“It could be the normal seasonal flu outbreak or dengue. We are still waiting for the test results as both can happen concurrently,” he said when contacted by Bernama.
The official gave the assurance that the outbreak was not linked to Influenza A (H1N1).
Ismail said the ministry would take control measures to contain the outbreak, including fogging, monitoring and examination of all trainees, and referring cases to the nearest hospitals. — Bernama
siew eng says
Did you see the picture in The Star? The guard had a mask on his face while the detainees were all mask-less. And the caption was priceless – something along the lines of protective measures in place (but who cares about the immigrants, right?)