KUALA LUMPUR: Doctors at private clinics have been told to refer influenza A (H1N1) patients to government hospitals if they do not have the anti-viral drugs to treat them.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who is scheduled to meet private clinic and hospital doctors this week, said doctors must be on the alert and take immediate steps to treat people in vulnerable groups with Tamiflu.
He said the ministry would rope in the Malaysian Medical Association and Association of Private Hospitals Malaysia to cooperate with the ministry in battling the pandemic.
"We cannot take this pandemic lightly and neither can our frontliners.
"We need to continuously monitor the situation and act accordingly as our aim is to protect Malaysians and ensure that they are treated effectively and immediately," Liow told the New Straits Times.
Liow assured Malaysians that the ministry would ensure that there would be enough supply of anti-viral drugs and H1N1 vaccine to meet demand.
"We are hoping that 9Bio would also go into the production of vaccine eventually," he said, adding that they had to be on the top of things and be prepared for virus mutation or the prevalence of a new virus.
9Bio (Ninebio Sdn Bhd) is a wholly-owned government company focusing on the research and development of vaccines, natural products and services.
He said the ministry was well prepared for the worse scenario and it had already put in place some strategic plans to handle the pandemic if it hits a large number of the population or was faced with a second wave which was said to be more serious and virulent.
"We will concentrate on strengthening treatment and get all doctors to understand the symptoms and treat patients appropriately so as to reduce the mortality rate," he said.
Meanwhile, another death was recorded yesterday, bringing the death toll to 70.
Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said 52 new cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) were admitted to hospitals while 162 ILI patients were discharged, leaving 1,345 ILI patients still under treatment in 82 hospitals nationwide.
Dr Ismail said of the 1,345 patients in hospital, only 202 or 15 per cent had been confirmed as H1N1 positive, and 42 of these cases were under intensive care.
"Of the 42 cases under intensive care, 38 are in the high-risk category, having chronic illnesses (15), being obese (nine), suffering from diabetes (six), being children or infants (three), women who are pregnant or in the post-delivery period (three) or suffering from Down's syndrome (two)."
The World Health Organisation had reported a total of 239,397 H1N1 cases with 2,578 deaths worldwide as of yesterday, indicating that the pandemic was still active.
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