Three from Bakun admitted for melioidosis
Aidila RazakPublished: Aug 10, 2010 2:46 AM | Updated: Aug 10, 2010 3:50 AM
The Sarawak Health Department has confirmed that three people from Bakun have been admitted to hospital for melioidosis.
The Sarawak Health Department has confirmed that three people from Bakun have been admitted to hospital for melioidosis.
According to a letter sent via Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Dr George Chan's (right) office, as July 24, 71 patients suspected of the disease, were admitted to state hospitals this year.
Of this, 12 patients tested positive, seven negative while the remaining are still awaiting results, noted the letter signed by Sarawak Health Department Director Dr Zulkifli Jantan.
He disclosed that of the 12 cases, two patients - an 11-year-old girl from Sibu and a 56-year-old man from Kuching - have died.
Zulkifli also confirmed that two male patients are undergoing intensive care treatment in the Bintulu Hospital.
One of two in the ICU is from the district Belaga but not from the Bakun, which is also located in this district.
The Bintulu Hospital also recorded seven other cases as of Jul 29. Out of them six are still unconfirmed.
Additionally, Zulkifli said that 157 patients were admitted in 2009 in Sarawak hospitals but there were no deaths.
Confusing two diseases
Malaysiakini had last month reported a possible gag order on statistics pertaining to the disease, following a response received from the officer from the state's health department.
When requested for statistics, the officer, who could not be named as it goes against civil service code, said that a directive has been issued from a top government official barring the release of such information.
In response, Chan had refuted Malaysiakini's report quoting a human resources manager at the Bakun hydroelectric dam, who claimed that he knows of nine workers who had allegedly died from the disease in the past year.
In doing so, however, the deputy minister appeared to have confused melioidosis with another infection, leptospirosis, providing in the Bernama report statistics on the latter instead.
Chan had said that a 46-year-old Bakun worker has been admitted for suspected leptospirosis, thus confirming that workers at the contentious hydroelectric dam project is exposed to both diseases.
The two diseases have been inadvertently lumped together following the deaths of rescue divers in the Lubuk Yu incident, due to these two separate infections.
Leptospirosis is present in rat urine while melioidosis is a water and soil-borne disease endemic to parts of Malaysia, Australia and other South East Asian countries.
Poor man's disease
According to Dr Savithiri Puthucheary, who has researched melioidosis for over two decades, the disease has slipped under the radar as it is a poor man's problem.
"It is a poor man's disease, affecting people like loggers, construction workers and gardeners who are exposed to the bacteria through their work," said the Universiti Malaya researcher when contacted.
Indeed, the human resources manager who spoke to Malaysiakini had expressed his concern that the workers were exposed during the land drilling.
Puthucheary added that as such, the disease is an occupational hazard and preventive measures should be taken through administering protective clothing.
"The best way to deal with this is to take preventive precaution like wearing a mask to ensure there is no inhalation of the dust and wearing protective clothing like boots. I don't think the construction workers even wear slippers," she said.
Inappropriate antibiotics
She added that while the disease is treatable a recent study has found that about 30 percent of patients later diagnosed with melioidosis were administered inappropriate antibiotics on presentation at clinics or hospitals.
Zulkifli, too, admitted that misdiagnosis is a problem and is one of the reasons melioidosis "has now become one of the important public health problems".
"The clinical presentations of melioidosis vary and can mimic...many other diseases...It is usually accompanied by high fever, headache, muscle pain, chest pain and cough," he said.
He added that while it is not on the list of notifiable diseases, its endemic nature to Sarawak has led to the implementation of administrative notification in 2003.
Such measures were also taken due to the severity of the disease which can be fatal if left untreated, as well as the high likelihood of relapse if treatment is improper, he said.
A check with Sarawak's Department of Occupational Safety and Health found that no reports have been lodged about the disease, as it is not considered an ‘occupational disease'.
According to a letter sent via Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister Dr George Chan's (right) office, as July 24, 71 patients suspected of the disease, were admitted to state hospitals this year.Of this, 12 patients tested positive, seven negative while the remaining are still awaiting results, noted the letter signed by Sarawak Health Department Director Dr Zulkifli Jantan.
He disclosed that of the 12 cases, two patients - an 11-year-old girl from Sibu and a 56-year-old man from Kuching - have died.
Zulkifli also confirmed that two male patients are undergoing intensive care treatment in the Bintulu Hospital.
One of two in the ICU is from the district Belaga but not from the Bakun, which is also located in this district.
The Bintulu Hospital also recorded seven other cases as of Jul 29. Out of them six are still unconfirmed.
Additionally, Zulkifli said that 157 patients were admitted in 2009 in Sarawak hospitals but there were no deaths.
Confusing two diseases
Malaysiakini had last month reported a possible gag order on statistics pertaining to the disease, following a response received from the officer from the state's health department.
When requested for statistics, the officer, who could not be named as it goes against civil service code, said that a directive has been issued from a top government official barring the release of such information.
In response, Chan had refuted Malaysiakini's report quoting a human resources manager at the Bakun hydroelectric dam, who claimed that he knows of nine workers who had allegedly died from the disease in the past year.In doing so, however, the deputy minister appeared to have confused melioidosis with another infection, leptospirosis, providing in the Bernama report statistics on the latter instead.
Chan had said that a 46-year-old Bakun worker has been admitted for suspected leptospirosis, thus confirming that workers at the contentious hydroelectric dam project is exposed to both diseases.
The two diseases have been inadvertently lumped together following the deaths of rescue divers in the Lubuk Yu incident, due to these two separate infections.
Leptospirosis is present in rat urine while melioidosis is a water and soil-borne disease endemic to parts of Malaysia, Australia and other South East Asian countries.
Poor man's disease
According to Dr Savithiri Puthucheary, who has researched melioidosis for over two decades, the disease has slipped under the radar as it is a poor man's problem.
"It is a poor man's disease, affecting people like loggers, construction workers and gardeners who are exposed to the bacteria through their work," said the Universiti Malaya researcher when contacted.Indeed, the human resources manager who spoke to Malaysiakini had expressed his concern that the workers were exposed during the land drilling.
Puthucheary added that as such, the disease is an occupational hazard and preventive measures should be taken through administering protective clothing.
"The best way to deal with this is to take preventive precaution like wearing a mask to ensure there is no inhalation of the dust and wearing protective clothing like boots. I don't think the construction workers even wear slippers," she said.
Inappropriate antibiotics
She added that while the disease is treatable a recent study has found that about 30 percent of patients later diagnosed with melioidosis were administered inappropriate antibiotics on presentation at clinics or hospitals.
Zulkifli, too, admitted that misdiagnosis is a problem and is one of the reasons melioidosis "has now become one of the important public health problems".
"The clinical presentations of melioidosis vary and can mimic...many other diseases...It is usually accompanied by high fever, headache, muscle pain, chest pain and cough," he said.
He added that while it is not on the list of notifiable diseases, its endemic nature to Sarawak has led to the implementation of administrative notification in 2003.
Such measures were also taken due to the severity of the disease which can be fatal if left untreated, as well as the high likelihood of relapse if treatment is improper, he said.
A check with Sarawak's Department of Occupational Safety and Health found that no reports have been lodged about the disease, as it is not considered an ‘occupational disease'.
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