Foreign siblings with whooping cough in isolation: Dr Subramaniam

SUNGAI SIPUT: The two non-Malaysian siblings who were reported to have been infected with whooping cough (pertussis) in Keningau, Sabah have been put in isolation for two weeks, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
He said apart from isolating the patients, aged two years and seven months and 11 months, the health authorities would also conduct immunisation test in the affected area.
"We will test the immunisation status of the people around there and ensure that all of them are vaccinated. We also ensure that these (infected) children are being isolated so that they don't spread to others until we are confident that the risk of spreading will not be there.
"This will usually take not more than two weeks," he said after officiating the foundation stone laying ceremony of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Heawood here today.
Yesterday, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, in a statement, said the siblings who were being treated at the Keningau Hospital had never received immunisation for whooping cough.
According to Dr Noor Hisham, whopping cough was caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria and was transmitted through the air during sneezing or coughing and cause inflammation of the mouth, nose and throat.
It can infect everyone but infants and children who are not fully immunised are the most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Dr Subramaniam, who is also MIC president, said the 529th SJKT in the country which was being built on an approximately 2.42ha land would be completed at the end of 2018.
"The school will begin its operation in 2019 and has 12 classrooms equipped with facilities as required by the Education Ministry," he said, adding that the RM12.5 million school could accommodate up to 600 pupils. — Bernama