Sudah seminggu sepupu saya dari Kg Gadong, Rembau sedang
dirawat di Unit Rawatan Kritikal Hospital Seremban akibat demam malaria. Apakah
negara kita sedang dilanda wabak malaria? Apakah langkah-langkah pencegahan
yang perlu diambil baik dari sudut perubatan apatah lagi dari sudut pendekatan
Islam? Dalam akhbar mengesahkan wabak malaria sedang melanda satu perkampungan
Orang Asli.
72 people down with malaria
NST 26 May 2013
A MALARIAL outbreak has
infected 72 people, including 60 Orang Asli from Kampung Sungai Rual, in
Jeli since the first case involving a logging worker was detected on May 1,
state Health Department deputy director Dr Wan Mansor Wan Hamzah said.
Following the discovery, health authorities launched an
operation to contain the outbreak by collecting blood samples of about 800
people, including 560 Orang Asli, in several villages, Orang Asli settlements
and kongsi at logging sites.
He said the department had distributed 557 medicated nets for
the villagers to sleep in to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
"The mosquitoes will die when they hit the net. Our
officers have practically camped at the affected areas to detect those who
might be down with fever as well as to conduct anti-malaria ceramah."
He added that fogging and chemical sprays had also been
carried out in order to destroy adult mosquitoes in their breeding grounds, as
part of efforts to contain the outbreak.
A deadly malaria strand tightens its grip in Malaysia
7 March 2013
Scientists in Malaysia have reported an increase in malaria
cases in Borneo caused by the Plasmodium knowlesi parasite, threatening the
region's hopes for malaria elimination.
Research has indicated that while cases of the more common
malaria strands, such as Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, have seen
a huge decline, P. knowlesi cases have increased dramatically since the early
2000s.
"We suspect that deforestation may have something to do
with it as most of the cases were recorded in rural areas," he says.
"Our studies showed that more than 70 per cent of P. knowlesi patients
were male and from the 25-45 age group. Many of these were farmers or
plantation workers, which are moving further into the macaques territory
increasing chances of contracting [the disease]."
The WHO has recommended that each country affected should
formulate a comprehensive strategy to control the disease.
"Rapid diagnosis, appropriate and timely treatment,
personal protection, surveillance and health information targeted at risk
populations and health staff, as well as operational research, are vital for
successful elimination," says Timothy O' Leary, public information officer
at the WHO's Western Pacific Regional Office.
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