Health Ministry: Sars screening process unsatisfactory
A Malaysian who lives and works in Singapore as a cashier may face legal action for not being honest when declaring her health status on her return to Malaysia recently.
She later told the health ministry here that she had been in close contact with a friend who had died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in Singapore on April 24.
The woman, aged 22, was one of three new suspected Sars cases reported to the ministry yesterday, according to the daily update by deputy director-general of health Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.
She was one of two suspected Sars cases who had not been detected at entry points into the country, he said.
Health screening measures at entry points will be improved to prevent suspected Sars cases from slipping through, says the health ministry.
A Malaysian who lives and works in Singapore as a cashier may face legal action for not being honest when declaring her health status on her return to Malaysia recently.
She later told the health ministry here that she had been in close contact with a friend who had died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) in Singapore on April 24.
The woman, aged 22, was one of three new suspected Sars cases reported to the ministry yesterday, according to the daily update by deputy director-general of health Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.
She was one of two suspected Sars cases who had not been detected at entry points into the country, he said.
Legal action?
Mohd Ismail said the woman fell ill two days before returning to Malaysia, but did not inform officials conducting health screening at the causeway that she was not feeling well.
She has since been admitted to the isolation ward of the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) with fever and a cough, two of the symptoms associated with Sars.
"We are still investigating the matter and need to contact our counterparts in Singapore to confirm the death (of the woman's friend)," he said.
Asked to comment on the case during a separate press conference, Health Minister Chua Jui Meng said the woman was liable to face punishment under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988.
"It is clearly stated on the health declaration card that those who are dishonest (about their status) may be punished with a jail term of up to two years," he said.
The other suspected Sars patient who had slipped through the screening process is a marketing executive aged 40, from Selangor.
He fell sick on May 1 during a working visit to China. He returned home two days later with fever, cough and breathing difficulties and was admitted to UMMC yesterday.
Mohd Ismail said the man had not filled up the health declaration card.
The third suspected patient is a Singaporean man, 85, who had been in Malaysia since April 27. He developed Sars symptoms last Friday. The patient, who also has chronic lung disease, has been warded at Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
Thermal thermometer
Mohd Ismail said the failure to detect the two cases proved that the screening process implemented at airports and other entry points was " not satisfactory".
It is compulsory for passengers, especially those from Sars-affected countries, to fill the health declaration card when they arrive in Malaysia.
However, Mohd Ismail also blamed the two patients for not having declared their health status honestly.
He said the installation of thermal thermometers at entry points would help to improve detection of Sars cases. The ministry expects to receive the equipment later this week.
Meanwhile, four people were discharged from designated hospitals yesterday. With the three latest admissions, the number of people in isolation wards now stands at 22.
Of these, one is a probable case. There are eight suspected and nine notification cases, while four are pending confirmation. The number of people under quarantine jumped from 806 to 872 - an increase of 66 since the last update.
To date, Malaysia has reported 334 notification cases - seven of these, including two deaths, are probable Sars cases.
