Two Confirmed JE Cases In Penang Spark Fear Of Another Outbreak

A new Japanese Encephalitis (JE) case has been detected in Penang after a 12-year-old boy was admitted to a private hospital here. Year Six schoolboy Muhammad Ammar Muqrish Zulkifli from SK Kampung Selamat in Tasek Gelugor, Butterworth, was believed to have contracted the disease while on a camp programme organised by the school at its premises in April.

The boy, who has been in a semi-conscious state for about a month now, was first diagnosed with the disease on June 27 after a second round of blood tests.

The Health Ministry also cooperated with the respective state’s veterinary departments to check for JE infections. “Based on our investigations on the JE case in Penang, we suspect that it stemmed from the patient being exposed to mosquitoes with the JE virus while participating in a camping activity in school between April 24 and 26,” he said. Subramanian said the locality of the student’s school is a high risk area for JE infection as it is near pig farms.

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A girl, aged two years and five months in Butterworth was confirmed to have been infected by the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus, during a visit to her grandfather’s house in Bagan Jermal.

Penang Health director Dr Lailanor Ibrahim said an examination of the girl’s blood sample on June 24 showed she tested positive for JE. “The girl was admitted to the Seberang Jaya Hospital on June 13 with fever and convulsions but later transferred to the Penang Hospital (HPP) when her condition worsened.

“At the hospital, the patient was treated at the pediatric ward’s intensive care unit (ICU) before she was transferred to a normal ward on June 18 after her condition improved,” he said in a statement in Butterworth last night.

The toddler’s case brings it to a total of 17 JE cases, including four deaths, in the country this year.

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Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said of the 16 cases, eight were in Sarawak, four in Sabah, two in Penang and one each in Selangor and Kelantan. Of the four deaths, two were in Sabah and one each from Selangor and Kelantan.

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Penang Health Exco Dr Afif Bahardin is questioning what he describes as failure on the Health Ministry’s part to issue an earlier warning on the 16 Japanese Encephalitis (JE) cases which have resulted in four deaths since the beginning of this year.

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He slammed the ministry saying it had failed to issue an early warning which could have helped the public to be on the alert earlier. “By right, preventive measures could have been carried out by government agencies such as the Veterinary Services Department.

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Citing the recent case where a 12-year-old school boy was infected with the disease, Dr Afif said that the Penang Veterinary Services Department only learnt of the case through media reports as there was no official statement issued by the Health Ministry to the State Veterinary Services Department, whether at the state or federal level. “This is truly disappointing, especially when it involves public interest.”

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Residents of Kampung Selamat are alarmed by news of a 12-year-old boy contracting Japanese Encephalitis (JE). Despite the fact that the boy is the only case there, the lingering memory of the Bukit Pelanduk incident in Negri Sembilan 15 years ago has given many of them nightmares.

Residents said they had been putting up with a strong stench and polluted waterways, believed to be from nearby piggeries, for the past 20 years. They had protested, asking for their relocation. Traders of the Felda-run Pusat Industri Asas Tani were worried that their safety and businesses would be badly affected.

But the Penang government announced last year it would not close down the pig farms as it would affect the pork supply in the state. State authorities also said the pig farmers had complied with rules and regulations.

Penang pig farmers have called for calm after a 12-year-old boy was infected with the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus which is transmitted to humans via the culex mosquitoes but finds its host in pigs and other animals like mice, rabbits and birds.

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Penang and Province Wellesley Farmers' Association Pig Farmers committee chairman Tan Kwei Hin said they should not be blamed until there was evidence to finger the animals as the cause. He added the Penang Veterinary Services Department had taken samples from pig farms in Tasek Gelugor, where the victim was from.

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Department officers had collected 200 blood samples from pig farms in Kampung Selamat, Tasek Gelugor, today morning. The samples will be tested in laboratories in Penang and Ipoh while results are expected to be out on Friday. "If the results are positive then tell the public, but if the results are negative then tell the public too. This is affecting our business," he said when contacted.

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“We knew about this problem only two months ago. We asked the authorities to take samples from the pig farms but they did not come until few days ago. “The owners live next to these pig farms, so if there is a virus spreading, it would have affected us, too.” he told the NST.

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“The ministry has advised all schools to obtain the necessary advisory from the district health offices before conducting any camping exercises or overnight activities especially if the school is located within a 2km radius from a pig farm,” he said.

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He urged pig farm workers and residents living nearby to take precautionary steps as prevention against the virus infection. “Please get rid of mosquito breeding grounds and whoever experienced any of the symptoms must immediately get medical treatment,” he said.

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The JE virus is spread by the Culex mosquito that had bitten animals such as pigs and birds that are reservoirs for the virus. The virus has a five to 15 days incubation period, a large portion of the infection are asymptomatic and the possibility of contracting encephalitis is one out of 250 cases.

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Symptoms of the virus infection include headache, fever, nausea and vomiting.

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