At 5.10 pm, on my blog this morning re: “Large-scale H1N1 awareness campaign welcome but why so belated – after 33 deaths and some 2,000 cases?” , I received this heart-rending post from a mother, Karen Lee from Kota Kemuning, worried about her five-year-old son in the A (H1N1) flu killer pandemic, which has claimed 38 lives since the first death was reported 26 days ago on July 16 and recorded 2,253 cases since the first H1N1 case less than three months ago on May 15, 2009..
Karen wants to ask the Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai four questions about the A (H1N1) flu pandemic and quite desperate for getting an immediate reply as her son’s life is “at stake”.
These four questions are:
1) of the many high risk deaths, other than tamil flu, what other medication/medical measures have been taken?
2) of the many high risk deaths, what are the races, i am not being racist, but i want to know the type of food they usually consume, ie nasi lemak, chilli stuffs, fried stuffs, durians, too much high fibre vegetables etc, do they also take papaya, barley water, herbal concoction, significant doses of Vitamin Cs etc….
3) of the high risk deaths, what are the prevention method they use prior to them falling ill and while they are ill and subsequently after that.
4) of the high risk deaths, how well aware are they of the symptoms and the treatment of the symptoms eg, knowing they are at high risk, do they use steroid inhalers, sabutamol / bronchiodilators, anti histamines???
This is Karen’s post before she posed the four questions:
What house Victim said is correct
’‘From the Symptoms, the virus will attach “poor” respiratory and digestive systems or those with “internal heat” built up by Hot & Spicy Food or lack of rest. These should be the guidelines NOT only Fever! Promotion should be on KEEPING both systems healthy!’
My son is a chronic bronchitis sufferer and he is only 5. We live in Kota Kemuning where the haze is all year round due to open burning.
Everytime when he got the runny nose and cough, i had to give him steroid inhailer and sabutamol to ease his airways.
Now he is in his third day of coughing and phelmy and wheezing etc…. but he has no fever…… he is on his usual medication and i am monitoring his situation.
Question now… should i go to GH to let him be tested? What if his flu isn’t H1N1 but he get infected by queueing for hours in the hospital?
I wanted to get our usual pediatrician to give him Tamilflu but was informed that the government has all the stock and none others has it…… there aren’t enough to go around. Suppliers of Tamilflu are having a big meeting to discuss this headache…..
Tell me, dear HM (Health Minister) what should i do.Also, i heard that in Subang, schools like Lick Hung, Chee Wen has H1N1 cases, some up to 15 cases but were not reported….. we are like chasing rumours in the wind.
Please, sir, we should adopt the most conservative measures ie close the all schools for at least a week….. we are taking about many deaths in a day…….. !!!!! Malaccan schools are wise in closing the schools to curb the spread….. students spend so many hours under such hot and hazy condition in schools, naturally their immune system will be weak…. and this will increase the chances of getting H1N1. Already many in Kota Kemuning are coughing but no case has been heard yet…..
Malaysians are very well known for ‘tidak apa’ attitude and the stupid mentality of why need to take medicine when it’s just a light sickness……. so that’s why there are many deaths, they do not know what kind of medicine to give…..
Especially to the children…. you think Tamilflu is ok for children, studies have shown it has a very bad side effect…. please read this
This is past 7 pm but I have decided to put this on my blog with an appeal to Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai to immediately furnish answers to Karen.
Liow may or may not read this blog soon after it is uploaded but he should have Health Ministry officers who should be monitoring public concerns on the Internet – and I will send out a tweet to draw the attention of Liow Tiong Lai.
In this era of Internet of 24/7, particularly in a national emergency with the A (H1N1) killer pandemic on a rampage claiming lives with a terrifying lethality and rapidity – 38 lives in 26 days – if Liow or his representatives whether from his professional or political staff could not respond immediately, something is really very wrong and rotten with the system.
This blog offers Liow the immediate facility to reply to Karen and other concerned Malaysians to end their living nightmares about the A (H1N1) pandemic.
How can you ask a politician who is not a DOctor?When we have a good DR.Chua, people want him out with his VCD. Community health and epidemic is a crisis,even Mexican government also down to the Knee, How can Liow handles,he is only doing as what the Guidelines states, The DG is the key man to implement.
Political matter and budget, expenditure or special additional funds may fall to minister roles… But, this is about Govt, Admin, Health ministry or Hospital, It is a HUMAN Being CRISIS. This is a WAR between HUMAN and Virus.
I had read many articles about Ioniser, air filter,; During my quest of travelling during SARs, I seen some people wearing a Portable on neck hang device, battery powered ioniser..Devicer that generate Negative Ion. This is expensive stuff. But the Korean had make it cheap recently, but it was not so marketable. Asking people to wear mask, especially Tie Face mask, people just feel shame, or think it is useless.. But every preventative should be exercised and supported. A 30 sen mask is now sold at RM1/= reaping 3 time profit margin.I had bought many during previous crisis, which were air tie packing, now am I reaping the profit ffrom buyers? But no one seem to be interested.
Surely during this period, stay clean, stay isolation for those breathing difficult patient is without options. It is the only choice.
God bless the Human Being.
No need to blameeach other, During this period, we do not know who would be around to be blamed… Do what we can do,the fate is already fixed.
We have a weakest leadership dealing with this ultra dangerous out break of flu.
We have start off pretty well and was one of the country that caught the flu much later but the death toll is catching very fast now.
Liow simply has not leadership ind dealing with this kind of crisis. We are very unfortunate to have this man here as Minister of MOH.
The worst is yet to come but we seem to have done nothing to control and now they are busy counting the body.
Liow should tender his resignation immediately and may be Dr. Chua should take over now. But this will never happened
I don’t know whether what I’ve to say might help you or not Karen.For normally healthy people with no underlying medical conditions,A(H1N1) does not usually kill.However for those who have underlying medicalcondition,complications such as pneumonia will set in to cause death.
Underlying medical conditions referred above are:-
(a) diabetes
(b) chronic lung problems such as asthma
(c) kidney problem requiring for example
dialysis machine.
(d) chronic heart problem.
(e) anyother organ problem as such liver or
pancreatic problem
(f) obesity
(g) having a low immune system usually
associated with old people 60 years and
above.
(h) pregnant women
(i) pulmonary hypertension
So in order to pre-empt pneumonia setting in should such people were to be infected with the flu,one should take a pneumococcal vaccination before catching the flu.
I’ve written to an associate professor in John Hopkins Hospital USA asking him as to whether my daughter in her mid twenties should be given the vaccine.His immediate reply is a strong yes.
Karen,if you like you can leave your e-mail address here,I don’t mind forwarding this information to you.
We have ministers who “talk big”. He said he has everything ready for the pandemic what more with past experiences like Sars, etc. Also they are quick to defend businesses like quickly stating that such and such product (like melamine tainted ) never came into Malaysia even before carrying investigation. “semuanya o.k.” There is a lack of care in PPUM Trauma Dept and I coul sneak in by coming down from the Level one opencourt cafe and going down a lift to Level G. There was no “temperature check” station to man the 2 lifts. Even my motorcycle accident patient walked in unaccousted after I dropped him at the main entrance. I heard Assunta checks everyone entering limited doors with forehead scanners which some claim to be inaccurate. There is a huge shortage of manpower so checks at airterminals and borders are not stringent enough. Since Thailand has a high rate of sufferrers the check points should be more beefed up. It has been reported that temperature checks may falacious as some recent serious and fatal cases show no high temperature.
Our authorities are indeed taking a tidak apa attitute and it seems to me that they are trying to play down the severity of the flu. The MOH just lacks leadership in dealing with this whole episode. Plain and simple.
My children are studying in SM Puchong B where there is already at least 1 confirmed case of H1N1. And as days passes by, I seem to hear of more cases surfacing although unconfirmed. But there are more confirmed cases from other schools in Puchong.
Even some teachers at the school were not going into the class to teach for fear of contracting the flu.
I made numerous calls to the Min of Education to enquire if they should close the school for a couple of days as a precaution. I purposely highlighted that my enquiry was H1N1 related. I was passed from one person to the next and from one dept to the next until I was finally passed to the correct dept only to be told that all the pegawai were in a meeting. No one bothered to take down my contact no.
Feeling frustrated, I called the MOH hotline listed on the front page of one of the Chinese newspaper. Alas, the phone rang and rang and no one picked it up.
As a parent, I am very concerned on the health of my children. All I am seeking is some guidance from the relevant authorities on how I should act. What is the status of the flu pandemic in the Puchong area? Should I continue sending my children to school? What precautions or preventive steps are the teachers taking at schools to check the flu? Or is there any preventive measures at all?
Sadly, the pegawai-pegawai that I spoke to does not seems to show any urgency in handling this matter. I can relate to how Karen would feel.
Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. When the going gets tough, the MCA Ministers go missing.
Liow should stop playing hide and seek. For so many weeks he has not been decisive or serious about this A (H1N1) crisis. The death toll has mounted and the number of cases has sky rocketed in recent days. But the Minister does nothing.
The PM has stepped in belatedly in the wake of the Minister’s non-action. People’s lives are at stake. We should have been on red alert weeks ago and mobilised our resources. But nothing. This Minister should be removed immediately if he does not know what to do.
The Health Minister’s job has always been the career ending job for MCA politicians. Liow’s fate will be no different.
Paging for Liow Tiong Lai, passanger on Flt AXX 678 to Paris. Please board the plane now!!
Hello..Hello..Reality check! Barking up wrong tree…
The lunatic who is running the KKM is that bump who calls himself DG; Ismail Merican appointed by UMNO…Liow can’t do anything about that..
If the MCA has even an ounce of dignity left, they should have the BN by now….
But then we all also know that the MCA just loves to be sodomized by UMNO..
Well, I beg to differ. It is not that MCA loves to be sodomized by UMNO. It has no choice. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, MCA chooses the devil because the devil has some use for it. UMNO needs a puppet from each of the major races to claim that BN is a multi-racial coalition. Choosing the deep blue sea is political suicide. If MCA leaves BN, it cannot survive and MCA knows it too well. It will be mauled by DAP in any election. A TKO even before voting day. At least in BN, MCA can still count on Malay votes. How about that? A political party that claims to represent the Chinese but has to depend on Malay votes to win? What a joke.
Najib is going to allocate another RM20 million to buy medicines for killing A (H1N1) Virus. However, does Najib really know what medicines he is going to buy? Is there really an efficate medicine that is proven to be effective in healing the patients of A (H1N1) virus infestation?
Najib may not be able to buy any conducive vaccine for A (H1N1) Virus as at todate because it has not been successfully developed yet. It will be much more effective at the moment for Najib to launch a health consciousness campaign as soon as possible in order to educate the Malaysian people on the neccesity to follow the proper quarantine procedure to isolate any suspected A (H1N1) virus carrier.
For knowledge about the present vaccination product availability status of H1N1, let’s check out the following information from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_flu_pandemic_vaccine
‘The Australian company CSL said that they were developing a vaccine for the swine flu and predicted that a suitable vaccine would be ready by August.[16] However, John Sterling, Editor in Chief of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News, said on June 2, “It can take five or six months to come up with an entirely novel influenza vaccine. There is a great deal of hope that biotech and pharma companies might be able to have something ready sooner.”‘
‘Testing of H1N1 Vaccine
According to ClinicalTrials.gov, Initial Phase I human testing began with Novartis’ MF59 candidate in July 2009, and phase II trials of CSL’s candidate CSL425 vaccine were planned to start in August 2009, but had not begun recruiting. Sanofi Pasteur’s candidate inactivated H1N1 had several phase II trials planned as of 21 July 2009, but had not begun recruiting. News coverage conflicted with this information, as Australian trials of the CSL candidate were announced as having started on 21 July, and the Chinese government announce the start of trials of the Hualan Biological Engineering candidate.’
Onlooker Politics, you make Najib sounds like the fool that he is… spending RM20 million for something that hasn’t exist yet, LOL.
AN1H1 is a international issues, not domestic created. Just put the politic differences aside, unite together, find a common solution for all MALAYSIAN for this Tamilflu. Let show a good example like “Ah Pek”: Cheer…..
all you need to know in
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
Off-topic but bound to be of great interest to a certain Mr Chua SL
Soi Lek, Where art thou? Angela Yam looking for thou
The power-that-be will probably brush this off as another stunt by YB Kit to draw attention and the spin doctors will start spinning their tales to divert attention. Meanwhile tens more will die and pay the price for inefficient medical attention and poor and weak leadership.
k1980 – in this time of crisis and concern for well ebing for the people, you still have the time and energy to spring an attack on Chua Soi Lek like this. I call this hitting below the belt. Tell him straight in the face that Angela Yam is looking for him, not like this…
Don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of his too but be a man and hit him in his face, not spring a cheap guerilla hit-and-hide shot like this.
You must be with OTK’s camp? Wakakaka…
Dear LKS,
So far, our MOH only announced the numbers of death each day and increasing numbers of HINI cases but failed to give us public a demographic of the death and infected cases i.e. what race prone (maybe due to type of food, lifestyle etc, areas whether rural or urban, age group, their illnessess, so to allay fear and instill awareness).MOH must give us the specific statistic so far and not just assume the high-risk group.We want facts & figures of those dead & affected by H1NI,as a preventive measure.
Another obvious reason is the lack of soap & cleanliness in public toilets!And the soap they should provide is not those that are just good for the skin but SOAP THAT KILL GERM I.E. DETTOL SOAP and not those foam / liquid (those don’t kill germs, those are not effective when there HINI).Pls HELP HINI from spreading by providing DETTOL SOAP or ask MOH to issue this mandate to all shopping malls & public toilets (KLIA,Sentral etc) to provide DETTOL SOAP in view of the HINI!! MOH did not curb this problem extensively.All schools & public areas should be given temperature screening equipments and masks at entry points. Now the spread is domestic not foreign, so screen domestically as well and not only in KLIA.What about KL Sentral (any screening there).And what type of food or drink to avoid /to take by people to prevent the spread. I think with the many designers soap, we dont get to clean ourselves effectively.We should go back to use Dettol soap or soap that kill germs and not soap that mosturizes our skin.(i am not promoting for Dettol, i am just a home-maker concerned for Karen’s son, feeling quite helpless and fearful).
To: Karen, avoid giving “heaty food & fried food or fast food” and chocolates to son for now.
Thanks YB for highlighting my case, i believe many are desperately seeking the leads like i am to see what is best we can do for our children.
To #3 by AhPek on August 11th, 2009 21:13, Thanks so much for your very important lead, I have read this just now,
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-pneumonia4-2009aug04,0,6872284.story
and will speak to my pediatrician whether both my sons can be vaccinated ASAP. My email is [email protected]
Frankly, i prefer to seek the natural path in regards to my son’s situation, i have heard of the pheumovax vaccine previously but like all vaccine, it comes with side effects and i have been reluctant to let my child be vaccinated coz it will create a sense of complacency when it comes to his health everytime he gets a cold or flu, thinking that he will recover by himself.
But in matter of life and death, i have no choice now….
As for 17 by yokielaw on August 12th, 2009 13:25 and #1 by charlieKC on August 11th, 2009 19:47, this is what i have been practising since the start of the haze,
1) drinking sugarless barley water everyday and also enzyme juice,
2) papaya after all meals if possible
3) no biscuits, junk food like keropok, mamee, fried stuffs eg (we hardly eat them),
4) wear mask whenever we go out (sometimes using N95, sometimes the three ply ones)
5) easily digestable food like porridge, pasta, noodles eg
6) don’t stuff yourself with food
7) lots of water even if it means having to have a cane over their heads to make sure they drink their cuppa
8) try to sleep before 11 pm…….
9) it’s important to have bowel movement everyday, eat enough fibre but not too much till it jams up your system.
I have just recovered from a bout of bronchitis less than a month ago and as such i have to follow the above practise as well…. even then, i occasionally still cough and feel the chills…….
To all mothers……. all the best in taking care of your children and yourself…..
P/S I saw in the papers today, the Pahang Royalties who are down with H1N1 using special masks with something that looks like canister….. anyone any idea where can we obtain them as well? All lives are lives regardless of how rich or influential they are right?
Utusan Malaysia reporter Mohd Nizam Mohd Yatim thought the phrase “ultra vires” means “To insult”.
Ummmmm, thought he would think “ultra vires” as a form of extreme virus, like H1N1. No?
It is a well know fact in this country that only the poor or the deprived will have to face the medical nightmares in this country.
The rich and the well connected will go overseas for treatment.
Under the circumstances, would the BN government bother to improve the health services by allocating more funds to such services?
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/28129
suggest BN make compulsory order to all Utusan reporters to learn how to use kamus for english to bm. sorry. out of topic.
on h1n1, how many ‘reported’ & ‘official’ deaths related to h1n1 will only the MOH regard as serious?
so many cases / speculations of h1n1 issues not reported or cleared of speculation.
Bro Kit,
For every Malaysian death, Liow & Merican are responsible (& indirectly the PM as he has chosen to put imcompetent imbeciles in charge of our Health & well being)!
I would like to highlight a shocking incident which happened in Klinik Kesihatan Selayang (Sungai Tua). The above mentioned clinic was scheduled to close at 9.30 pm. However as patients arrived around 8.30 pm there was a sign placed at the counter saying there are more numbers for patients (“Nombor Giliran Sudah Habis”- see attached images-
http://s813.photobucket.com/albums/zz60/JesCarol/?action=view¤t=Image2.jpg
http://s813.photobucket.com/albums/zz60/JesCarol/?action=view¤t=Image1.jpg).
With the high risk of the spread of the H1N1 flu outbreak it shows great irresponsibility on the part of the clinic staff who rudely turned people away just because they ran out of numbers for patients. I personally saw the staff at the counter, in a rude manner, asking a couple with a very sick looking child to go to Selayang Hospital. I’m not aware of any ruling that allows clinics to turn away patients due to shortage of numbers. I’m sincerely hopeful action will be taken by the Ministry of Health to rectify this situation. Thank you
A Shocked Patient
Hello MOH,
What is serious? Everyday a few died of HINI, isn’t that serious enough?If not what is the measurement of seriousness? Is MOH doing enough to curb spread.Now spread is domestic,goes to show actions not fast enough or effective enough.Do all public toilets and rubbish bins beefed up their cleaning?With the HINI,govt should issue directives to all public toilets & shopping malls to clear their rubbish bins every hourly and clean toilets with Clorox every hour to fully curb spread and sanitized those rubbish collectors and mandatory to wear sanitized gloves & masksfor sanitary workers and cleaners.Not sure whether MOH is doing this, but i notice like as usual “tidak apa attitude”.Look at how clean is our rubbish truck, each time a rubbish truck passes by, it leaves a stench of foul smell and filthy smelly liquid on the road.Look at our public drains mostly clogged esp those in typical china man shops.Look at the cleanliness of our public areas.What about public buses & LRT? To curb hini spread, they should provide sanitinser before boarding, is this done?If not, spread would be out of control.All public workers should put on masks and those in public areas esp malls,cybercafes,schools etc.Prevention better than cure.
By virtue of the Law of Nature, if there is a condition, there is an existence. If the condition is condusive for HINI, then Hini will spread.So, MAA & authorities should use this wisdom to treat the conditions and not the virus,as virus is everywhere.The existence of this virus is caused by a condition.If we can find out the condition and curb or treat the condition, then there will be no existence of this virus.So,MAA /WHO should study on what CONDITION does this HINI virus survive on. If there is NO CONDITION, THERE WILL BE NO EXISTENCE.EVERYTHING IS CONDITIONED.Western medicine always treat the SYMTOMS BUT NOT the CAUSE.WE SHOULD TREAT THE CAUSE USING THE LAW OF NO CONDITION, NO EXISTENCE.Hope Authorities look into this.
MOH is doing the AAB ie. dreaming & sleeping 24hr.
Friends just rtn from Japan & compared to our steps taken to contain the virus, it is non-existent steps. In Japan, at the airport, upon arrival, passengers were given antiseptic or alcohol wipes.
The same are handed out at hotels, train stations, restaurants, bus stations, toilets, schools, etc etc. Basically all the public areas & this is besides high-end quality face mask.
These are how detailed the Japan MOH has taken & it shows how serious they are to prevent further spread – which I think it’s under control better than most countries. The idea is so simple & yet effective/efficient.
In a quarantine situation, the person suspected of H1N1 should be warded to nearest hospital or centralised location. Being mindful towards younger persons at the same time. I heard in Australia, they will send all those suspected to a resort ! At least to prevent the spread to other family members & domino from there. The hospital or the so called resort will provide the necessary care & medical treatment. All these were organised efficiently & collectively by all related parties. So question – why aren’t we doing the same? Pls ask our MOH this YAB.
Ask everyone on the street & they will say our MOH not doing enough – apart from talking only & passing the responsibility to the people instead. If that’s the case, the whole country should just go into quarantine mode. At least in Japan, people still go about their normal routine. Except those infected which will be taken care of. Same in Australia. This is why the tax payers there gladly pay their taxes! Knowing that they will be taken care of.
Here, our MOH is telling us politely to “yak-chiu”.
Besides having face mask in our pockets, parents should arm themselves with:
1. alcohol-based hand-wash ; no need water to rinse & it’s antimicrobial ; but keep away from kids…to prevent any tragic incident like that not long ago.
2. also handy to keep some alcohol wipes ; these are in little sachets & convenient to wipe utensils, esp. at mamak, kopitiam, etc. it does not contain soap…so, there is no residue since it is 99.99% alcohol. can also be used to wipe around mouth area but not the eyes. ears & nose area should be ok…just don’t stick it in lah. our respiratory tract is connected via eyes, ears, nose, mouth. this is where the virus can enter. apart from food ie. handled by contaminated hands.
3. food handlers in restaurants, eateries should be given these alcohol wipes to sanitise their hands regularly – ie. every hour.
4. school principals should be empowered to close the school if necessary ; if wait for MOH response, too late. in the US, they close 1 mth when there is confirmed case.
many more ideas can be simply applied. don’t wait for useless MOH to act or give ideas. they will only know how to re-act when something more tragic than now happens.
JK’s Digest No. 6 of Aug 2009 (114-115 of 2009) Rozak town in conflict with dogs haram?
1. Donggongon Township, Penampang.
I went to that small suburban township and the place around buhaven or blue heaven has sort of become buhell or blue hell. Why? The open spaces have been converted into temporary or semi permanent trading and cooking stalls. I heard DBKK is now very strict with all those eateries in KK in the prevailing Influenza A (H1N1) [not to mention Cash’s H1N1- the ‘bomb’], and so the Penampang Town Council loaded with politicians is in sort of crying shame. Please do something in the interest of public health and healthy tourism. Are those operators local?
2. Why are dogs also haram in dog shape Sabah?
My wife heard of this sort of fantastic story when she was in Donggongan. Learn from this if Sabah is to progress effectively and not into a desert now that many storms are here – the land below the wind. The story goes from a lady who was sending the puppies to the veterinary doctor. The cost of tending dogs is worth it. There was this case of a family who abandoned 4 puppies of three weeks old into the dustbin hoping that they would be taken away by the dustmen the next day. A concerned neighbour who saw this had pity on the puppies and the mother dog. So she decided to take home the 4 puppies and the bitch to bring them up. Within a short time, the said family was able to avoid bankruptcy as that business was hard up with cash unable to sell the 4 collateral shops. Soon after that family was able to find buyers after a long delay of getting buyers. On the other hand, the family [doing quite well] who abandoned the puppies were in trouble in family problems ending in ambulances sending some of them to the hospital. Was it due to the puppies and that treatment, it is up to you to ponder. There are not short of such stories around. Many may be scared of H1N1 handling dogs but I have handled dogs since 1990 and today health is no problem for me as I am free from any medication for my age although I sleep with plenty of mosquitos around. So ask God if you are in doubt.
Joshua Kong
PM for IGGG
pw: lava Roberts’s