ID :
71249
Mon, 07/20/2009 - 23:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/71249
The shortlink copeid
MAALAYSIA: MINISTRY CAUTIOUS ABOUT LACK OF NO NEW CASES OF H1N1
KUALA LUMPUR, July 20 (Bernama) -- When there are no new cases of influenza
A (H1N1) being reported, the people generally would take it as good news but the
Malaysian health authorities remain cautious in making such conclusion as the
virus has spread worldwide at an unprecedented speed.
For the first time Monday, Malaysia did not report any new cases of
influenza A (H1N1) since the virus was first detected in the country on May 15.
The Health Ministry has been battling to contain the spread of the disease
to the extent of even elevating its action plan from containment to mitigation.
For the past few days, there was a decrease in the number of cases being
reported in the country and a major achievement Monday was that no cases were
reported for the past 24 hours.
"The drop in the number of the cases is not really an indication that the
spread is going to be over. We still have to wait," Director-General of Health
Dr Ismail Merican told Bernama when contacted here.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has in fact stopped counting new cases
of H1N1 flu, due to the fact that the virus has spread at an “unprecedented
speed”.
The WHO representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Dr Han Theru said
this was due to the fact that the number was simply too big and did not reflect
the actual situation of the spread.
"Counting numbers is not really accurate. The numbers did not reflect the
actual situation and that was why we asked many countries to shift from
containment to the mitigation stage," he said when contacted.
Dr Han said the influenza A (H1N1) virus was still evolving and whether the
trend was increasing or decreasing, nobody could know for sure and what they
could do was to continue to monitor the situation.
However, the world health body said all countries must continue to closely
monitor “unusual events” like clusters of severe virus infections or unusual
patterns of the serious cases.
In terms of the vaccine development, the manufacturer has said an H1N1 flu
vaccine could only be ready in October.
The pandemic was first detected in Mexico earlier this year before moving to
the United States, Europe and other nations in the northern hemisphere. The
virus is now more prevalent in the southern hemisphere, where it is now the
winter season.
Flu is typically more active and prevalent during the fall and winter.
WHO had raised the worldwide pandemic alert level on June 11 to phase 6, the
highest designation. The most recent WHO figures, from early July, listed 170
flu fatalities in the United States, 119 in Mexico and 60 in Argentina.
However, the figures had risen since then and WHO stopped listing national
totals after July 6 because the organization said "the increasing number of
cases in many countries with sustained community transmission is making it
extremely difficult, if not impossible, for countries to try and confirm them
through laboratory testing."
-- BERNAMA
A (H1N1) being reported, the people generally would take it as good news but the
Malaysian health authorities remain cautious in making such conclusion as the
virus has spread worldwide at an unprecedented speed.
For the first time Monday, Malaysia did not report any new cases of
influenza A (H1N1) since the virus was first detected in the country on May 15.
The Health Ministry has been battling to contain the spread of the disease
to the extent of even elevating its action plan from containment to mitigation.
For the past few days, there was a decrease in the number of cases being
reported in the country and a major achievement Monday was that no cases were
reported for the past 24 hours.
"The drop in the number of the cases is not really an indication that the
spread is going to be over. We still have to wait," Director-General of Health
Dr Ismail Merican told Bernama when contacted here.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has in fact stopped counting new cases
of H1N1 flu, due to the fact that the virus has spread at an “unprecedented
speed”.
The WHO representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, Dr Han Theru said
this was due to the fact that the number was simply too big and did not reflect
the actual situation of the spread.
"Counting numbers is not really accurate. The numbers did not reflect the
actual situation and that was why we asked many countries to shift from
containment to the mitigation stage," he said when contacted.
Dr Han said the influenza A (H1N1) virus was still evolving and whether the
trend was increasing or decreasing, nobody could know for sure and what they
could do was to continue to monitor the situation.
However, the world health body said all countries must continue to closely
monitor “unusual events” like clusters of severe virus infections or unusual
patterns of the serious cases.
In terms of the vaccine development, the manufacturer has said an H1N1 flu
vaccine could only be ready in October.
The pandemic was first detected in Mexico earlier this year before moving to
the United States, Europe and other nations in the northern hemisphere. The
virus is now more prevalent in the southern hemisphere, where it is now the
winter season.
Flu is typically more active and prevalent during the fall and winter.
WHO had raised the worldwide pandemic alert level on June 11 to phase 6, the
highest designation. The most recent WHO figures, from early July, listed 170
flu fatalities in the United States, 119 in Mexico and 60 in Argentina.
However, the figures had risen since then and WHO stopped listing national
totals after July 6 because the organization said "the increasing number of
cases in many countries with sustained community transmission is making it
extremely difficult, if not impossible, for countries to try and confirm them
through laboratory testing."
-- BERNAMA
