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The Star Online >
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Friday, July 19, 2002
WHO: No cause for alarm over meningitis cases PETALING JAYA: The public does not have any cause for worry or reason to get paranoid over the meningitis cases, said World Health Organisation (WHO) representative to Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam Dr Susantha De Silva. He said that although the Health Ministry was thinking about vaccinations, that step was not necessary at the moment. “The ministry has done their work. They are just waiting for information to come from different places. They are watching and they have the technical expertise to act. It is adequate at the moment,” he said. Meanwhile, regional director for the WHO regional office (Western Pacific region) Dr Shigeru Omi said that the Government had already taken the necessary intervention actions such as strengthening its surveillance on the disease. “As of now, the Government is self-sufficient in handling this issue. So we (WHO) will just support them,” he said. They were speaking to reporters yesterday after the opening of the 34th Asia-Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health Kuala Lumpur Conference here. Meanwhile Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said meningitis and encephalitis were among some 4,000 diseases around the world and the media should not create unnecessary anxiety in its reporting. Asked to comment on DAP national chairman Lim Kit Siang’s call for a transparent accounting of the meningitis scare, Chua said: “Why use the word transparent, what is most important is to do the right thing.’’ Chua said he would submit a paper to the Cabinet on the three deaths soon.
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