Diseases in Malaysia

There are countless types of diseases in Malaysia and recently they are making news headlines too often for comfort.

Firstly, there is the much talk about bird flu but we are safe for now. Imports of fowls have been totally banned and migratory birds can't fly here because MAS and Air Asia dominate the route.

Total ban and we are safe. Fried chickens anyone?

Jokes aside, bird flu news are all over the TV stations and for prevention measures birds in affected area were culled. Authorities fully dressed in protective white suits with masks and gloves gives seriousness of how infectious the flu is. However in the background, laymen and their children stood unprotected watching their livestock being cull. While occasionally news crew can be seen wearing only masks. The double standard that we are adopting raises serious doubt in the effectiveness in containing the infections.

As for Sarawak, no bird flu case has been detected todate. Unfortunately the state is again hit with the HFM (Hand Foot Mouth disease) epidemic, with 4 death recorded so far including one fatality from the deadly EV71 virus that mysteriously killed dozens a few years back. Another kindergarten in Kuching with suspected case was closed today, which prompted me to write this. Why can't the ministry instruct all kindergartens to be close temporary in order to stop the chain reaction? Do we have to wait until more infections or death occured before we start prevention? How typical can we get?

So, why are all these diseases turning deadly? Many have been known to develop resistance strains as treatment drugs are widely misused and abused. Resistance occurs mainly in the usage of antibiotics, which under normal circumstances should be use as the last line of defense but are being unnecessary over used and not taken as prescribed. This raises fear that we are creating mutant strains that might be unstoppable one day.

Where we did we go wrong? Both consumers and healthcare providers are to be blame. Consumer for being ignorant and the medical personnel for not educating the public enough. Maybe it is the Asian culture where we still lack of interaction and the reserve attitude for not asking more?

Finally, another disease worth mentioning here is this one:

Selective illiteracy and mountain size ego during parking... :-)

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Other diseases : Cholera, Dengue - prevention and cautions advisable. Typhoid, Hepatitis, rabies, measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)- vaccination are available and advisable. Malaria - prevention or Prophylaxis with Lariam, Malarone, or doxycycline is recommended for rural areas, particularly the forested, hilly, and underdeveloped interior areas. Recent outbreak of Foot&Mouth ENV71 which is the deadly strain for children below of 7yo - maintain hygiene.

Contact me or your nearest healthcare provider for more information.