BERITA MENARIK SEKITAR PANDEMIK PENYAKIT A(H1N1)

1. Malaysia telah telah mengeluarkan nasihat khas perjalanan termasuk suntikan demam bermusim ke negara Amerika Syarikat (AS), Mexico, Kanada, Sepanyol dan Britain. Ini kerana 96.8 peratus kes penyakit A(H1N1) yang dilaporkan berpunca dari kelima-lima negara berkenaan.

2. Malaysia juga telah mengharamkan import daging babi dari Kanada.

3. Negara jiran sebelah utara (Thailand) telah melaporkan dua kes penyakit A(H1N1) dan kedua-dua mangsa didapati baru pulang dari Mexico sementara rakan mereka seramai 10 orang kini dalam pemantauan.

4. Thailand kini memiliki stokpenimbal 1.32 juta tablet anti-flu oseltamivir



Malaysia Keluar Nasihat Perjalanan Mengenai Influenza A(H1N1)


KUALA LUMPUR, 12 Mei (Bernama) -- Kementerian Luar Selasa mengeluarkan satu nasihat perjalanan sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga kepada semua rakyat Malaysia yang melawat lima negara, Amerika Syarikat (AS), Mexico, Kanada, Sepanyol dan Britain.

Ia menyatakan bahawa 96.8 peratus kes yang dilaporkan berpunca dari kelima-lima negara berkenaan.

Nasihat perjalanan itu juga menggesa rakyat Malaysia menangguhkan perjalanan ke tempat di mana virus tersebut telah melanda dengan teruk seperti Illinois, Wisconsin dan California di Amerika Syarikat.

Bagi perjalanan ke luar negara yang tidak dapat dielakkan, mereka hendaklah merujuk kepada doktor untuk mendapatkan suntikan demam bermusim.

Nasihat perjalanan itu menggariskan keperluan untuk mendapatkan maklumat terkini jika ada wabak atau kes baru influenza itu di destinasi berkenaan.

Ia juga menasihatkan agar mengelakkan diri daripada bersentuhan dengan mereka yang dijangkiti virus itu.

Bagi suspek influenza, mereka diperlukan agar mengelak diri daripada bersentuhan dengan yang lain sebaik mungkin dan tinggal di rumah atau di bilik hotel dan hubungi pihak berkuasa kesihatan tempatan dengan segera.

BERNAMA


Thailand confirms 2 cases of swine flu

AP
By AMBIKA AHUJA,Associated Press Writer - Wednesday, May 13

BANGKOK – Thailand announced Tuesday its first confirmed cases of swine flu in two people who recently returned from Mexico and have recovered from the illness.

Health Minister Witthaya Keawparadai declined to disclose the identities of the patients, citing doctor-patient confidentiality and the fact that their conditions had improved.

"The two patients have received a full dose of antiviral medicine and have returned to live normal lives," Witthaya said. "There is no outbreak in Thailand."

The cases in Thailand also marked the official arrival of swine flu in Southeast Asia. Other countries on the continent have reported cases, including China, Japan and South Korea.

Following the confirmation, Witthaya said the country's public health officials will step up surveillance by setting up more thermal scanners at airports and border checkpoints.

"We will have to be even more vigilant," he said. "We will also make sure our mobile medical teams are ready to be dispatched in case there is a case and to check on those who had possible contact with patients."

Witthaya said one of the patients had a fever upon returning from Mexico and the other developed a temperature three days after getting back to Thailand, declining to say when that was.

Authorities have contacted passengers who traveled on the same flight as the two patients and "no one has presented any symptoms," said Kumnuan Ungchusak, an official at Thailand's Department of Communicable Disease Control.

Health authorities sent samples from both patients last week to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for final testing, Witthaya said.

Authorities have also monitored eight people close to both patients for a week and none registered any symptoms, Witthaya said. He said an additional 10 people in Thailand were being monitored for swine flu.

Fourteen Thais who returned from an exchange program in Mexico earlier this month were taken to a hospital for observation. All tested negative.

Kumnuan said Thailand has a stockpile of 1.32 million tablets of the anti-flu medicine oseltamivir, and the Health Ministry is expected to buy more raw materials to locally produce at least another 2 million tablets.

FACTBOX: Countries slap bans on pork after flu outbreak

(Reuters) - Fears about a global outbreak of a new strain of flu has prompted some countries to ban pork from countries reporting human cases, even though officials have said there is no risk of spreading the virus by eating pork.

Here is a list of current restrictions on U.S. and Canadian pork and meat:

RESTRICTIONS ON U.S. PORK EXPORTS:

* Russia - all raw meat (including beef and poultry) from California, Texas, New York, South Carolina; all pork from Arizona, Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio

* China - pork and swine from 38 states, including California, Texas, Kansas, New York, Ohio, Arizona, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Virginia, Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, Georgia and Maine

* South Korea - live swine, but not pork

* Kazakhstan - pork from Texas, California, Kansas

* Uzbekistan - all pork

* Kyrgyzstan - all meat

* Azerbaijan - all pork

* Ukraine - swine, all pork and all products including pet food

* Macedonia - swine

* Serbia - raw pork and swine

* Croatia - pork and swine

* Thailand - pork, swine, swine genetics, hides and skins

* Indonesia - all pork

* Saint Lucia - pork, swine and pig semen

* Ecuador - swine and pork

SOURCES: U.S. Trade Representative, U.S. Agriculture Department

RESTRICTIONS ON CANADIAN PORK EXPORTS:

* Armenia - swine, pork, certain feed ingredients and genetics

* Azerbaijan - ban on all meat

* China - swine and pork from Alberta

* Croatia - swine, pork and genetics

* Honduras - pork

* Indonesia - pork

* Lebanon - pork

* Malaysia - swine and pork

* Philippines - pork

* Russia - swine and pork from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia

* South Korea - swine

* Thailand - swine, pork and genetics

* Ukraine - swine and pork

* Venezuela - swine and pork

SOURCE: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Rod Nickel; editing by Jim Marshall and Andre Grenon)