Second "Swine Flu" / H1N1 case confirmed

The health authorities have confirmed that a second Malaysian has come down with the influenza A(H1N1) virus. The patient is now warded at the Penang Hospital.

The new case, a woman, is a friend of first patient and both landed in Malaysia on the same Malaysia Airlines flight MH091 from Newark, the United States, two days ago.

The first case involved a 21-year-old male student who started having fever, sore throat and body aches. He has been admitted to Sungai Buloh Hospital.

Yesterday, director-general of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said all passengers on the flight should call the ministry at 03-8881-0200 or 03-8881-0300 for follow-up action.

He also said the first patient had been given anti-viral treatment and was in stable condition.

He said the Health Ministry had taken preventive and control measures, including contact investigation into the case and informing the student’s family about his H1N1 infection and his contact history with the passengers and crew members on the same flight.

He said the public should not be unduly worried about the influenza A(H1N1) situation in the country.

The ministry, with the cooperation of all the relevant agencies, was intensifying monitoring to ensure proactive measures were taken to safeguard the health of the people, he added.

- The Malaysian Insider

Yesterday, director-general of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said all passengers on the flight should call the ministry at 03-8881-0200 or 03-8881-0300 for follow-up action.

WTF? What The Fuck?

Dude, why dont you just publish the names and faces of all the passengers who boarded that flight on the media? That way, you have the public as your eyes. When you publish their faces in the media, you can be assured that the public will memorize those faces to make sure they dont get close to them. It works the other way too - if they see these faces in public, they will report it in.

So it shouldnt be "all passengers on the flights should call in". It should be "all people must call in when you see these passengers"

Im keen to see how the government responds to this H1N1 crisis. I bet the government still has alot of resources committed to the political turmoil in Perak but they need to realize that in the bigger picture, the H1N1 crisis has a far bigger threat... If not contained, it can escalate to a national crisis.

Anyway, if you know of anyone who flew in from Newark (US) two days ago, pls report his location but stay away from him... or wear a mask at least.