Asked if he was anywhere near the target, he said there was an increase of nearly 60 per cent in dengue deaths compared with the previous year. "My KPI is to reduce the number of cases in the country by 10 per cent every year," he said, adding that the number was not going down although the ministry was "fighting hard".
Liow was launching the Malaysian Medical Association-Ministry of Health (MMA-MOH) Infectious Diseases Conference at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel here.
As of yesterday, the dengue death toll had risen to 125 from 123 on Saturday, compared with 77 deaths in the same period last year. But Liow was quick to point out that the number of deaths last year was greatly reduced from 120 in 2008.
"The number fluctuates year to year. In the Asean meeting for Health Ministers, other countries from the tropics also reported high cases of dengue," he said, adding that dengue was not just a disease but also an environmental issue. The number of deaths was also attributed to the fact that only 40 per cent of cases were referred to hospitals due to late detection of the disease. Liow hoped more doctors would upgrade their knowledge of early dengue detection by getting a copy of the revised clinical practice guidelines on the management of dengue infection in adults, available for download on the ministry's website.
"Early detection is critical so that patients can be treated. "If doctors are not aware, patients will only be sent to the hospitals later and this raises the death rate as now, patients can die from dengue in four days compared with one week previously," he said. MMA president Dr David Quek said patients must also cooperate with doctors to get the correct diagnosis. "Dengue infections in the first few days are misleading because they have symptoms similar to the flu. "When doctors ask patients to come back after a few days if the situation persists, they must go back to the same doctor and not jump from clinic to clinic until it is too late," he said. "There are also patients who are not easy to persuade to go to the hospital," he said. On the Influenza A (H5N1) infection that was reported in Hong Kong on Nov 18, Liow said thermal scanners, which were installed in airports during the Influenza A (H1N1) outbreak, can help detect tourists infected with the virus. On Nov 18, a 59-year-old woman in Hong Kong tested positive for the H5N1 virus, a variant that causes bird flu. Officials were reported saying the woman had just returned from a trip to mainland China but it was too early to say where she contracted the disease.
Read more: http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/05deng/Article#ixzz162NOkGJ2
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