Malaysians lack infection control awareness

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Nasrun (second right) in mock handing over of the gloves to Dr Christina.

KOTA KINABALU: Low level of glove usage in Malaysia mirrors the lack of infection control awareness among the people, said Sabah State Health Department director Datuk Dr Christina Rundi.

“Awareness on infection control is lacking, so the usage is also low,” she said on Malaysia’s estimated nine pair of gloves usage per person in a year.

“We (State Health Department), whether in hospital or clinic institutions, must ensure that infection is controlled, and the people out there, Malaysians, must play their role to control infection,” she added after the One Million Gloves Contribution to the Sabah State Health Department presentation ceremony here yesterday.

Dr Christina said gloves were not only used in health institutions but could also be used when doing other activities such as gardening, or activities with high risk of infection.

“We do not know we can get infected anywhere. Not necessarily at the hospital. We definitely use gloves at the hospital,” she said.

Deputy Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Datu Nasrun Datu Mansur, who officiated the ceremony, disclosed that Malaysia is expected to hit the RM16 billion rubber gloves export figure this year.

Nasrun said Malaysia exported rubber products to more than 195 countries worldwide valued at RM18.2 billion in 2016.

He added that 73% of the figure is contributed by the export of rubber gloves, and Malaysia is currently the largest exporter of rubber gloves in the world capturing 60% share in the global market.

“In 2016, national export of gloves amounting to RM13.3 billion contributed about 53.4% of the total glove exports globally,” said the deputy minister.

“In the first five months of this year, the country’s export of gloves has showed good performance with an increase of 28.3% to RM6.8 billion compared to RM5.28 billion for the same period in 2016. I am confident that the positive growth will continue for the balance of year 2017,” he added.

According to Nasrun, around 30% of Malaysia’s rubber gloves export is captured by America, making it the largest importer of the Malaysian rubber gloves.

He added that at 80 pairs of gloves per capita consumption in America and 50 in Europe, the usage of gloves is an indication of a higher level of health services in that country.

“Developed countries such as America and Europe have higher levels of health care. In line with that, the use of medical gloves in these countries is higher compared to developing countries.

“In Malaysia, the use of gloves is estimated to be at nine pairs per capita consumption,” he said.

The deputy minister said this indicates potential to grow the country’s numbers with the further increase of infection control awareness in Malaysia.

“Malaysia is the largest producer of rubber gloves, but we see that in Malaysia the use of gloves is still low. It means there is a lot of space for us to promote in Malaysia so it can be used more widely,” explained Nasrun.

The deputy minister said Malaysia is also planning to tap further into the large India and China rubber gloves market.

“We are exporting to India but the usage there is still low. It requires a lot of glove awareness program, which we do all over the world,” said Nasrun.

“Next week MREPC (Malaysian Rubber Export Promotion Council) will go to China with the goal to run a glove awareness program so that they are aware of the importance of glove usage to prevent infection,” he added.

In terms of Sabah, Nasrun said the state’s many rubber smallholders in the West Coast contribute in terms of rubber production so it can be exported and made into rubber gloves.

The one million gloves received by the Sabah Health Department were contributed by MREPC. The program marks the third series after one million gloves were successfully distributed out in Sarawak and Perak, respectively.

Malaysia Rubber Export Promotion Council chairman Ahmad Lai Bujang and CEO Low Yoke Kiew were also present at the event.

In conjunction with the ceremony, MREPC also organized a seminar themed ‘Gloves and Control of Infectious Diseases’, which was attended by 350 health care personnel from Sabah.

The papers presented include the ‘Proper Use of Gloves to Prevent Infections’ and ‘Standard Precaution at the Community and Home’.