Viralled message student afflicted with H1N1 untrue: Health DG

KUALA LUMPUR: The viralled news of a Negri Sembilan student suffering from H1N1 virus or swine flu is untrue, says Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
In reality, he said the student, from Kuala Pilah, was confirmed positive with influenza A which spread easily through the respiratory tract.
"The rumours that a student in Kuala Pilah was confirmed with H1N1 is untrue. It's just a case of influenza A and not H1N1.
"On Jan 10, a boarding school in Jempol reported that two students had fever, cough, sore throat and flu. This is the first cluster of Influenza-Like-Illness (ILI) reported at a school in Negri Sembilan and since then, no ILI epidemic has been reported," he said in a statement here today.
Hence, Dr Noor Hisham cautioned the public against continuing to spread news which had not been validated as such irresponsible action could cause panic in society.
He also advised the public to take preventive measures, including getting treatment at nearby health facilities if they had symptoms such as ILI, and avoid public places to reduce the risk of infecting others. — Bernama