SUNGAI SIPUT, 7 Aug 2017:
The two non-Malaysian siblings who were reported to have been infected with whooping cough (pertussis) in Keningau, Sabah have been put in isolation for two weeks, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
Apart from isolating the patients, aged two years and seven months and 11 months, he said the health authorities would also conduct immunisation test in the affected area.
“We will test the immunisation status of the people around there and ensure that all of them are vaccinated.
“We also ensure that these (infected) children are being isolated so that they don’t spread to others until we are confident that the risk of spreading will not be there. This will usually take not more than two weeks.”
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has said in a statement the siblings – who were being treated at the Keningau Hospital – had never received immunisation for whooping cough.
Dr Noor Hisham explained whopping cough is caused by the Bordetella pertussis bacteria and transmitted through the air during sneezing or coughing and cause inflammation of the mouth, nose and throat.
It can infect everyone – but infants and children who are not fully immunised are the most vulnerable.
– Bernama