Monitoring movement of people to check malaria

GERIK: The Department of Orang Asli Development is to monitor the movement of people into and out of the malaria-hit Pos Kemar Orang Asli settlement to prevent the spread of the disease to other areas.
Its secretary-general, Mohd Jamalludin Kasbi, said officers of the department would be stationed at the land entry/exit points where control was difficult.
It was easier to control movement of people who use boats because there was only one jetty at the settlement, he said to reporters after visiting Orang Asli villagers suffering from malaria at the Gerik Hospital here today.
"The Perak Health Department is also helping with the screening and only malaria-free villagers are allowed to leave the settlement," he said.
The source of the malaria outbreak, which has sent 71 Orang Asli villagers to hospital, has yet to be determined. The parasite has been determined as the Plasmodium vivax (P vivax) species.
Mohd Jamalludin said 13 patients are expected to be discharged from the Gerik Hospital tomorrow and housed at the hostel of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Idris Shah II that has been turned into a transit centre for follow-up treatment.
"All discharged patients will be administered follow-up treatment for 14 days to ensure that they are completely free of malaria infection," he said.
He also said that the department had invited a medical specialist from the Orang Asli Hospital in Gombak to coax Pos Kemar villagers reluctant to seek treatment.
The department would conduct a more aggressive health and cleanliness campaign at Orang Asli settlements, including at Pos Brooke in Gua Musang, Kelantan, next yer, he said. — Bernama