Gag order on disease outbreak in Sarawak?
Aidila RazakPublished: Jul 29, 2010 2:53 AM | Updated: Jul 29, 2010 9:06 AM
A gag order apparently been imposed on statistics on a disease endemic to Sarawak, which is said to be afflicting workers at the massive Bakun Hydroelectric Dam project.
A gag order apparently been imposed on statistics on a disease endemic to Sarawak, which is said to be afflicting workers at the massive Bakun Hydroelectric Dam project.
According to an official from the Sarawak Health Department, a directive this month from a high-ranking government officer barred the release of any information on melioidosis.
"We were instructed by (the senior official) not to release any information starting this month, although we have not done so for several months now," she said when contacted, declining to disclose the reason.
The disease caught public attention recently when six people died, stricken by melioidosis and leptospirosis (caused by bacteria in rat urine) infections after taking part in a search and rescue operation for a drowning victim in Lubuk Yu, Pahang, on July 10.
This prompted the closure of the recreational area and a subsequent clean-up operation there by various government departments.
Malaysiakini contacted the Sarawak Health Department to obtain statistics on the disease after receiving claims of its prevalence among Bakun dam construction workers.
Bakun project: Nine dead, 50 infected
According to a management personnel with one of the dam's subcontractors, a number of workers had contracted the disease since the project began.
The officer who requested anonymity, spoke to Malaysiakini to express concern over the apparent trend. He knows of nine workers who died from the disease in the past year.
However, he estimates that 50 workers from his company had recovered from the disease after receiving treatment within the same period.
Most of the workers are foreigners and would be sent home even after recovering as the company did not want the risk of re-infection. A relapse could occur at any point in a person's life, even after adequate treatment.
To his knowledge, his employer has sent home 10 workers for that reason in the past year.
At the same time, he said, he was aware of some workers who were sent home in dire conditions because the companies no longer wanted anything to do with them.
"The workers who died did not receive treatment in the early stage because they did not report the illness, possibly because they were afraid of being sent back," he said.
The workers were likely to have been directly exposed to the bacteria during ground drilling.
"I am concerned that this will continue to be the case at the Murum dam," he said.
Two currently in intensive care
He added that two people were currently admitted to the Bintulu Hospital intensive care unit (ICU), including a resident of Belaga who is part of the community displaced by the dam.
A medical personnel at the hospital's ICU confirmed that one of the patients had been admitted for 38 days and the other for 26.
Experts researching the disease have claimed that available statistics may be unreliable due to under-reporting, as melioidosis is currently not a notifiable disease.
Besides Lubuk Yu, incidents of the disease have been reported in other areas of Peninsular Malaysia including Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur.
Symptoms of melioidosis may include pains in the chest, bones, or joints, cough, skin infections, lung nodules and pneumonia.
It can be diagnosed via blood screening and is treated using antibiotics. Without treatment, chances of mortality can exceed 90 percent.
According to the Sarawak Health Department statistics, there were 353 government hospital admissions and seven deaths from melioidosis in the state from 2002 to 2004.
However, from 2004 till 2006, only 16 cases were investigated by the health offices, eight of them by the Kapit Divisional Health Office, out of which five were related to the Bakun dam project.
Malaysiakini has written to the department for the latest statistics.
According to an official from the Sarawak Health Department, a directive this month from a high-ranking government officer barred the release of any information on melioidosis.
"We were instructed by (the senior official) not to release any information starting this month, although we have not done so for several months now," she said when contacted, declining to disclose the reason.
However, an aide to the senior official responded to Malaysiakini's enquiry later today to say that the official had denied issuing the directive and had asked that the issue be referred to the federal Ministry of Health.
When asked yesterday, Health Ministry Director-General Ismail Merican (left) said that he was "not aware" of such a directive.
Another officer at the state's Communicable Disease Control department also claimed ignorance on the matter , saying that information could only be released upon written request.The disease caught public attention recently when six people died, stricken by melioidosis and leptospirosis (caused by bacteria in rat urine) infections after taking part in a search and rescue operation for a drowning victim in Lubuk Yu, Pahang, on July 10.
This prompted the closure of the recreational area and a subsequent clean-up operation there by various government departments.
Malaysiakini contacted the Sarawak Health Department to obtain statistics on the disease after receiving claims of its prevalence among Bakun dam construction workers.
Bakun project: Nine dead, 50 infected
According to a management personnel with one of the dam's subcontractors, a number of workers had contracted the disease since the project began.
The officer who requested anonymity, spoke to Malaysiakini to express concern over the apparent trend. He knows of nine workers who died from the disease in the past year.
However, he estimates that 50 workers from his company had recovered from the disease after receiving treatment within the same period.
Most of the workers are foreigners and would be sent home even after recovering as the company did not want the risk of re-infection. A relapse could occur at any point in a person's life, even after adequate treatment. To his knowledge, his employer has sent home 10 workers for that reason in the past year.
At the same time, he said, he was aware of some workers who were sent home in dire conditions because the companies no longer wanted anything to do with them.
"The workers who died did not receive treatment in the early stage because they did not report the illness, possibly because they were afraid of being sent back," he said.
The workers were likely to have been directly exposed to the bacteria during ground drilling.
"I am concerned that this will continue to be the case at the Murum dam," he said.
Two currently in intensive care
He added that two people were currently admitted to the Bintulu Hospital intensive care unit (ICU), including a resident of Belaga who is part of the community displaced by the dam.
A medical personnel at the hospital's ICU confirmed that one of the patients had been admitted for 38 days and the other for 26.
Experts researching the disease have claimed that available statistics may be unreliable due to under-reporting, as melioidosis is currently not a notifiable disease.
Besides Lubuk Yu, incidents of the disease have been reported in other areas of Peninsular Malaysia including Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. Symptoms of melioidosis may include pains in the chest, bones, or joints, cough, skin infections, lung nodules and pneumonia.
It can be diagnosed via blood screening and is treated using antibiotics. Without treatment, chances of mortality can exceed 90 percent.
According to the Sarawak Health Department statistics, there were 353 government hospital admissions and seven deaths from melioidosis in the state from 2002 to 2004.
However, from 2004 till 2006, only 16 cases were investigated by the health offices, eight of them by the Kapit Divisional Health Office, out of which five were related to the Bakun dam project.
Malaysiakini has written to the department for the latest statistics.
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