Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

[Gert van der Hoek]

200 students quarantined at college hostel

By TUNKU SHAHARIAH and R. SURENDRAN

SUNGAI PETANI: More than 200 students from Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Merbok were quarantined in the college hostel yesterday after they came down with what is believed to be a viral fever that had spread rapidly.

It is learnt that an ambulance carrying medical and paramedic staff in protective masks was despatched by the Kuala Muda district health office to the college yesterday.

A parent, declining to be named, said the emergency alert was triggered when the viral fever began spreading from one student to another, affecting about a quarter of the college?s 800-odd student population.

?My son told me on the phone that he was having high fever, cough and flu symptoms late on Tuesday,? the parent told The Star.

About 10.30am, Kuala Muda district health officer Dr Umai Kalsom Hashim was seen leaving the college grounds, but she declined to comment.

Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital director Dr Harif Fadzilah Hashim confirmed when contacted that there had been an outbreak of viral fever at the college but the cases were ?not serious enough? to warrant any hospitalisation.

?I was told 0some students came down with a type of viral fever. We have yet to confirm what strain it is.

?I believe the alert was triggered to prevent further spread of the viral fever among the students at the hostel, as a preventive measure.

?So far, we have not warded any students,? he added.

The state health director was not available for comment at press time.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/19/nation/17482349&sec=nation

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

Friday April 20, 2007


500 Mara students down with measles

SUBANG JAYA: Measles is the ?working? diagnosis of the sickness that hit more than 500 students at Maktab Sains Mara Merbok.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek questioned why the relevant authorities, whether the school or the clinic which gave the initial treatment, did not take swifter action as there had been a huge increase in the number of cases in a short period of time.

He said that of the 624 students at the college, 539 had fever, cough and sore throat, adding that a one-week quarantine was enforced beginning yesterday.

?Even though the patient will recover in three to five days, the question is why the school authorities and the clinic, be it private or government, could not take faster action,? he told reporters yesterday after presenting Pharmaniaga Bhd?s Excellence Vendors Awards 2006.

?It is generally our practice in a government hospital or clinic that if we notice a sudden increase in fever and cough cases, we report it to the district health clinic. We want to know who gave the treatment and why there was no alert. We believe that it affected many people before it was traced. Why didn?t the college give a warning? The college would be the first to know.?

It was reported yesterday that more than 200 students from the college in Sungai Petani had been quarantined in the hostel after they were struck by a viral fever.

An ambulance carrying medical and paramedic staff in protective masks was despatched by the Kuala Muda district health office to the college on Wednesday.

Dr Chua also advised the college to postpone the next intake of students that was scheduled for the end of April to next month and urged parents not to worry.

He said the spread of the illness happened four days ago and the ministry?s infectious diseases control division was informed two days ago.

He added that the ministry would investigate what had taken place and discuss what to do next.



http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/4/20/nation/17494715&sec=nation

 

[Niko]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

Am I reading this correctly? Are there two separate college locations (Mara Merbok and Sungai Petani) where outbreaks are occurring?

Map Map of Merbok, Kedah MY

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

April 20, 2007 16:59 PM
No Measles Outbreak - MSRM Merbok Authorities

A Special Report By Zulkiple Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 (Bernama) -- The print and electronic media yesterday created "shock waves" among many parents with reports on a measles outbreak at the Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) in Merbok, Kedah.

One news report even claimed that 539 MRSM Merbok's students were sent to the hospital after they were discovered to have contracted measles.

MRSM has a student population of 600 over.

These reports caused the college to be deluged by telephone calls from concerned parents and even the reassuring words issued by the college's management that the situation is under control failed to allay their worries.

A news report also said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was miffed by MRSM Merbok's management over their failure to alert the health authorities earlier.

The ministry's disease control division was only informed of the outbreak, believed to be measles, only two days ago, Dr Chua told reporters after presenting awards to Pharmaniaga Bhd vendors here yesterday.

"We are not blaming anyone but want to know who gave the initial treatment. Since there are many cases, why was the ministry not informed? It is important to control the disease from spreading," he was reported as saying.

When contacted from here, the MRSM Merbok authorities said the matter was blown out of proportion by the media.

"The situation was well within control," said a resident teacher who declined to be named.

"When you have hundreds of students staying in dormitories in several hostel blocks, infections tend to spread very fast. In this case, it was not measles outbreak.

"Only two students were sent to the hospital for suspected measles and both were given outpatient treatment.

"Some 100 hundred students are down with fever, but the health authorities here have attributed it to viral fever which would subside over a period of three to four days," said the teacher.

He said the district health authorities are monitoring the situation, and a team of medical health personnel from the Merbok Health Centre is paying daily visits to the college.

"We regret the press reports, which we considered as erroneous," the teacher added.

A Bahasa Malaysia daily even reported today that the Merbok MRSM is closed and 589 of its students were down with measles.

The teacher said the report was totally untrue. "If 589 students are down with measles, then how many of the students are left (without measles)?

He was also asked on a news report that the students were being quarantined and no outsiders can go into the college's compound.

"The students were not quarantined. Only those who are down with fever are isolated from the others. And it is a normal practice not to simply allow any outsiders into the MRSM compound," he said.

The teacher also said the MRSM authorities even planned to allow the students to return home on April 26-28 inconjunction with the installation of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Meanwhile a parent, Zaidah Zainal, who stays in Green Valley Park, Rawang near here said she became very worried after hearing the news report.

"I made a call to the MRSM in Merbok and was assured that the reports were not true.

"Even then, my fears and worries were not abated until my son called me and reassured that everything was within control and only two of his schoolmates were sent to the hospital, one for measles and the other for conjunctivitis," she told Bernama here last night.

A check with a medical practitioner here, Dr Sallahauddin Ayob, said viral fever can be easily mistaken for other ailments.

When an individual contracts viral fever, the person would complain of having sore eyes and throat, flu and coughs apart from a fever.

"Usually the person would recover after three to four days and there is no specific medication against viral fever. The mode of treatment is to treat the signs and symptoms," he said.

Meanwhile a check with the Merbok health authorities late yesterday evening confirmed that there were no measles outbreak at the Merbok MRSM and the affected students were not quarantined, only isolated.

The health authorities assured that the situation was well within control but the parents are not encouraged to visit their children for the time being.

-- BERNAMA

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

N. Korea is in the midst of a measles outbreak.

 

[Laidback Al]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

Map of the location of Merbok in Kedah State, Malaysia:

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Malaysia:200 students quarantined at college hostel

Speculating: could be Norovirus? Report from a school in the USA

An outbreak of Norovirus was cause of students missing class

Published: Thursday, April 19, 2007 11:36 AM CDT



Augusta Middle School officials learned today the illness which kept more than 100 students out of class a week ago has a name.

Norovirus, a gastrointestinal illness, also known as “stomach flu.”

Findings by the Butler County Health Department and the Kansas Department of Health & Environment (KDHE) led to the AMS norovirus outbreak conclusion.


Now, health officials are trying to isolate the cause as the investigation continues.

Middle school students and then some adults in the community may have experienced symptoms of the illness.

Most sufferers have recovered and student absence numbers at the middle school have returned to normal parameters for this time of year.


Norovirus is a virus of the stomach that is transmitted by:

€ Eating food or drinking liquids that are contaminated

€ Touching surfaces that are contaminated and then touching the hand to the mouth.


€ Breathing aerosolized infected vomit.

€ Not washing hands after bathroom use or diapering

€ Having direct contact with another person who is infected and showing symptoms.


Norovirus symptoms are like those of food poisoning and therefore it is often called the "stomach flu."

Symptoms of norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Some people will suffer from a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness.

Symptoms develop 12 to 48 hours after exposure to the virus. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick.


The illness is usually brief, with symptoms lasting only one to two days and rarely causing long term problems after recovery.

Individuals suffering from norovirus run the risk of becoming dehydrated and should drink plenty of liquids to replace liquids lost during vomiting and from diarrhea.

Norovirus cannot be treated with antibiotics, because it is a virus, and is not caused by bacteria.

The virus is easily spread.

People infected with norovirus are contagious from the onset of symptoms until at least three days after recovery.

Food handlers should not prepare food for three days after recovery from any diarrheal disease.


Symptomatic persons should also refrain from working with the young and the elderly and should not be involved in patient care.

Children who are sick must not attend school or day care.

http://www.augustagazette.com/articles/2007/04/19/news/news01.txt