january, 2019 | The Health
Current News
Briefs
Health Ministry
clears recent rabies
scare in Sarawak
Teamwork ... [from left to right] GSK Consumer Healthcare Sdn
Bhd Global Manufacturing Services general manager Moien Ahmed
Khan and Bryan Wong emptying a container with stagnant water.
AAD initiates
clean-up drive
Clean-up work done following a spike in
dengue cases around Selangor
T
he Allied Against
Dengue
(AAD)
initiative, founded
by GlaxoSmithKline
Consumer Health-
care (GSK), initiated
a clean-up recently,
to help fight the rising number of
dengue cases in the Klang Valley,
particularly in the state of Selangor.
Recently, the Ministry of Health
reported that out of 55,184 dengue
cases in Malaysia during January
to end-September 2018, the state
of Selangor recorded the highest
number of dengue cases with
31,181 people reported having the
disease.
“The number of cases recorded
in Selangor makes up more than 50
per cent of the rest of Malaysia! This
is an alarming trend that should be
managed as dengue can cause fatal
complications. GSK along with other
AAD partners have been champion-
ing the cause of dengue prevention
and we’re proud to help make Klang
Valley a cleaner and safer place for its
residents,” said GSK general manager
Bryan Wong.
This year, the AAD initiative saw
160 GSK staff, together with repre-
sentatives from Guardian Malaysia,
and the local councils of Ampang and
Subang Jaya, participate in a simul-
taneous clean-up at three residential
areas namely, Hulu Kelang, Petaling
Jaya and Sunway.
Typically, the Aedes mosquito is
known to be able to breed in clean
stagnant water that can be easily
found in homes. Hence, the half-day
clean-up saw the participants clear
rubbish and drains to ensure that any
possible Aedes mosquito breeding
grounds were eliminated.
Last year, GSK revealed through
its South East Asia (SEA) Dengue
Survey, that just over half of the
individuals surveyed described
themselves as knowledgeable about
dengue. – The Health
Free medical treatment
at Gleneagles KK
U
nderprivileged patients
can access free medical treat-
ment at Gleneagles Kota
Kinabalu as part of the hospital’s
corporate giving initiative under the
‘Life Renewed’ programme.
‘Life Renewed’ is a community
programme by Parkway Pantai that
sponsors medical treatment to
needy patients in its home markets
of Malaysia and Singapore. Since
it was launched in 2012, ‘Life
Renewed’ has enabled more than
1,300 underprivileged patients gain
access to the expertise of Parkway
Pantai’s network of healthcare
professionals and medical facilities.
In 2018, Parkway Pantai injected
fresh funding of RM6 million in
support of its ‘Life Renewed’ pro-
gramme in Malaysia, for utilisation
by its local network of 14 Gleneagles
and Pantai hospitals. Gleneagles
Kota Kinabalu is one of them. Since
the hospital opened in 2015, it has
sponsored medical treatment for
22 needy patients through ‘Life
Renewed’.
The beneficiaries of ‘Life
Renewed’ come from disadvan-
taged backgrounds and have no
financial means of accessing quality
medical treatment. Upon referral
to Gleneagles Kota Kinabalu, their
medical conditions are assessed by
consultants. The patients are also
put through a stringent screening
process to ensure they meet the
eligibility criteria for ‘Life Renewed’,
so that the funds go towards helping
those who are truly in need.
The ‘Life Renewed’ programme
is available at all Parkway Pantai
hospitals in Malaysia. – The Health
Report earlier this month about an
Indonesian woman died of rabies in
Kuching made headlines and head
turns. The Ministry of Health Malaysia
has concluded that the woman was
bitten by his pet dog in his country of
origin, not in Malaysia.
The case saw a 69 year-old
Indonesian woman living in Sangau,
Indonesia. She was discovered bitten
by her pet dog in September of this
year at her left foot. During the episode,
the animal was said to be unusually
aggressive and had bit its owner
without provocation.
She was treated in Indonesia,
although details of her treatment was
not made known, she was reported
to have worsening symptoms. In
December 13, she was brought to
a private medical center in Kuching
Sarawak. It was there where she
showed neurological symptoms such
as confusion, weakening of legs, and
inability to swallow.
She was pronounced dead on
December 17, with lab test confirming
of her having rabies. The case was
not put into Malaysia’s rabies case
statistics as the victim was infected in
Indonesia. Confirmed rabies cases in
Sarawak remains the same since its
declaration in July 2017, which is 16
cases with 15 deaths. Last case of
rabies were reported in December 10
2018.
Imported chilies from
Vietnam detected with
unsafe level of residual
pesticides
A news report made on December
21 regarding unsafe chilies illegally
imported from Vietnam was
reconfirmed by the Ministry of
Health. The ministry found that the
government has terminated the
import permit of the specific produce
since December 14.
Health Ministry through the Food
Quality and Safety Division has
monitored the movement of imported
chilies throughout the market. They
had found that in more than 503
samples of chilies, including ones from
Vietnam, 21 did not adhere to the
1983 Food Act and the 1985 Food
Laws regarding residual pesticides.
Enforcement has been made.
Philips launches global
patient education effort
for World COPD Day
Royal Philips, a global leader in
health technology, has launched a
global initiative to celebrate everyday
wins by patients, providers and
caretakers regarding the management
of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD).
COPD is significantly
underdiagnosed worldwide including
in Malaysia. The WHO has highlighted
that COPD is likely to increase in the
coming years due to higher smoking
prevalence and aging populations in
many countries. It is important to pay
attention to this trend as Malaysia is an
aging nation with a significant number
of smokers, estimated at 5 million
currently.
05
05
Dialysis
patients
expected to
increase
The National Kidney Foundation
(NKF) of Malaysia recently hosted the
15th Annual Dialysis Meeting 2018
(ADM) with the theme ‘Exploring the
Possibilities’.
The ADM highlighted new devel-
opments in renal disease treatment
research while exploring new evidence
or techniques in order to achieve the
best outcomes for dialysis patients
and their care-givers. In addition, the
medical event provided insights on
demonstrable personal, clinical and
organizational benefits which attracted
500 delegates from the healthcare
industry.
The event featured 22 informative
sessions on chronic kidney disease,
dialysis, organ transplant, medicolegal
issues, diet and nutrition workshops
led by notable experts. Other high-
lights were exciting key note speeches,
informative issues discussions and
opportunities to network with hun-
dreds of professionals.
Speaking during the opening launch,
chairperson Dr Thiruventhiran Thila-
ganathan remarked that the dialysis
treatment rate in Malaysia has been
alarming, especially in recent years.
“While there are 40,000 dialysis
patients now, the number is expected to
project to a whopping 106,249 in 2040.
This large number of dialysis patients
has made Malaysia the country with the
seventh highest dialysis treatment rate
in the world.”
“It is crucial to ensure sufficient
resources are made available to sup-
port clinically led change, to meet their
clinical, emotional, psychological and
social needs.
(From Left) Selayang Hospital
Nephrologist Dr Suryati
Yacob, Hospital Kuala Lumpur
Nephrologist Dr Mohd Zaimi Abdul
Wahab and Dr Thiruventhiran
Thilaganathan sharing statistics of
chronic kidney disease in Malaysia.
As an organisation, NKF is commit-
ted to bringing value to our patients.
This year’s meeting serves as a great
platform for us to take responsibility
in providing an insight into the up-to-
date practices and recent advances in
the treatment of chronic kidney disease
and widen the horizon of knowledge of
medical personnel”, he added.
The event also highlighted scientific
developments in medical research and
the industry to deal with End Stage
Kidney Failure (ESKF). Aside from
NKF’s booth which promoted organ
donation and awareness on kidney
disease, pharmaceutical companies
took part in the event by displaying
and demonstrating the usage of their
dialysis equipment and medical prod-
ucts. – The Health