MIRI: The Health Ministry will step up preventive measures against the spread of the Ebola virus although there have been no confirmed cases in Malaysia.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said among the measures taken were screening of passengers at all major entry points, especially international airports.
“At KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport) we have this special machine for screening the body temperature of passengers, identifying and handling passengers with symptoms, immediately alerting the ministry and referring cases to the nearest hospital.
“As for other airports, including here at the Miri Airport, health officers are stationed and travellers suspected of having symptoms will be referred immediately to the nearest hospital for quarantine,” he told The Borneo Post yesterday at Miri Airport.
On the confirmation that a Zimbabwean student in Kuching was not suffering from Ebola, Dr Hilmi said the result should not make the people complacent.
“Instead everyone should play their role to prevent the deadly virus from spreading, as no cure has yet been found for the disease,” he said.
This includes avoiding unnecessary travel to countries seriously affected by the disease in West Africa – Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.
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.
Symptoms include high fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, kidney and liver failure.