GEORGE TOWN: The Health Ministry is on alert to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) to the country.
Its deputy minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said the ministry had taken various measures including screening passengers at all major entry points to prevent transmissions from travellers.
He said so far, there had been no notification of any EVD case in Malaysia but the precautionary measures must continue.
“The measures include screening the body temperature of passengers, identifying and handling passengers with symptoms, immediately alerting the ministry and referring cases to the nearest hospital,” he told reporters, here, yesterday.
Dr Hilmi also advised Malaysians to avoid visiting West African countries for the time being as the World Health Organisation (WHO) report stated that 1,603 cases, including 887 fatalities, were reported in four countries in West Africa as of Aug 4.
The cases were reported in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Dr Hilmi said the Education Ministry had also been advised to screen foreign students who had returned to Ebola-infected African countries.
“We are also working with various agencies to channel information on Ebola to those intending to travel to the affected countries, as well as to Malaysians already there,” he said.
Ebola is transmitted by direct contact with body fluids and tissues of those infected. It has a fatality rate of up to 90 per cent.
The symptoms include high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and kidney and liver failure. — Bernama