KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry has no plan as yet to
introduce vaccination for the rotavirus which causes acute gastroenteritis
(AGE), Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today.
Nevertheless, he said, he has directed the ministry''s director-general,
Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman, to conduct a study on the vaccination
programme for rotavirus.
"We need to see whether there is a need to introduce it," he told reporters
at the Orang Asli Hospital in Gombak, near here.
Liow was asked whether there is a plan to introduce vaccination for
rotavirus in government hospitals following the AGE outbreak in Perak recently.
The outbreak in late January has infected over 3,000 children and caused two
deaths so far. It was reported that there are two types of rotavirus vaccine in
the market here.
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Liow said there are 11 types of vaccination programmes available for
children in Malaysia.
"We need to prioritise on what vaccination programme to be introduced," he
added.
On the case of 67 students at the Sekolah Menengah Sains Muzaffar Syah
boarding school in Melaka quarantined for influenza-like illness (ILI), he said
the ministry is still monitoring the situation.
He said the students were found to have mild ILI symptoms and immediate
precautionary measures have been taken to contain it.
Earlier, Liow attended the official handing over of the medical and health
service of the Orang Asli Development Department to the Health Ministry.
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The Orang Asli Hospital in Gombak, established in 1957, and several health
facilities specially for the Orang Asli were taken over by the ministry as of
this year.
The facilities are three health clinics, in the Betau resettlement scheme in
Pahang, the Kuala Betis resettlement scheme in Gua Musang, Kelantan, and the
Kemar resettlement scheme in Grik, Perak, as well as mobile clinics, mobile
dental squads and the flying doctor service.
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VMP KHY MGN
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