Vet dept on H7N9 alert

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13, 2014): The Veterinary Services Department has stepped up surveillance at all entry points and poultry farms nationwide following the first case of H7N9 reported in Malaysia.
All state veterinary services department directors are also on high alert for any breakouts at poultry farms with the disease as most of the cases reported in China and Hong Kong were due to the victims being exposed to live poultry or potentially contaminated environments, especially markets where live birds were sold.
The first case in Malaysia is a 67-year-old female tourist from China who arrived in Sabah on Feb 6. She landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb 3, and travelled to Kota Kinabalu two days later where she complained of not being well. A blood test result confirmed that she was infected with H7N9.
As a proactive measure, its director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin, said the department has been monitoring all high risk premises such as entry points, wet markets, bird sanctuaries, bird pet shops and wild birds for avian influenza viruses including the H7N9 cases.
"With the first H7N9 cases reported in Malaysia, we have further intensified our surveillance nationwide, including Sabah and Sarawak," he told theSun today.
To date, there has been no cases of chickens or birds infected with the disease in Malaysia.
With Malaysia being an importer of chicken meat and chicken parts from China, he said they would be checked before being sold here.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director General of Health (Public Health) Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman, said the victim is in stable condition at a private hospital in Kota Kinabalu.
Asked why the fever scanner at KLIA did not detect the victim with fever, he said: "Probably she did not have fever at that time and developed symptoms only later."
He said the fever scanners were still in operation at all major airports with passengers being screened for symptoms of the disease.
Lokman advised Malaysians going to China and Hong Kong to take precautionary measures while in the country and to seek medical treatment if they show symptoms of the disease on their return.
"They must also alert the doctor that they have been to countries where cases of avian influenza have been reported," he added.