MAY-JUNE , 2022 | THE HEALTH
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| The Health says ... |
Don ’ t let your guard down
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Autism : Awareness , empathy and support It is important for parents to realise that autism is not a disease like a specific bacterial infection which can be eliminated with a course of antibiotics
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From birthmarks to cancer treatment In his pursuit to improve strawberry birthmark treatment , Dr Swee Tan discovered potential effective and affordable cancer treatment
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Does Parkinson ’ s start in the nose ? Two novel intranasal medications have reduced inflammation and inhibited the spread of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson ’ s disease in mice models
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F-1 ambulance drivers Are ambulance drivers trained to drive and handle an ambulance at high speeds ?
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Approaching cancer holistically A cancer patient ’ s journey , from choosing to be a thriver instead of a survivor to helping others approach cancer holistically
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May Day ! May Day ! The management of this whole pandemic , or “ plandemic ” as some describe it , has left many questions unanswered
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Add years to life and life to years By keeping your body healthy , you can slow the natural ageing process and live healthily and independently
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Running the race Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul on how friends , family and colleagues pledged to raise funds if he completed the Tokyo Marathon
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Bridging healthcare access in Malaysia There needs to be greater synergy between the various healthcare stakeholders within the government , private sector and civil society groups
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• Harjeet appointed Health Ministry Secretary-General
• Malaysian doctor volunteers at a shelter for Ukrainian refugees
• Emeritus Professor titles for top academics
MALAYSIA ’ S transition from the Covid-19 pandemic to the endemic stage seems to be working quite well – for now at least . The number of new infections appears to be under control , with a decline in active cases and ICU admissions . The daily death rate has also reduced significantly in recent weeks .
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin is happy and even praised Malaysians for their good behaviour in the transition to the endemic phase . He said they knew when to wear masks and isolate themselves if they had symptoms .
He said that there was no longer a need to enforce laws such as issuing compound notices and others with this good compliance . But this is worrying .
If we remember , Khairy , when announcing the relaxation of the SOPs effective May 1 , said while it was no longer compulsory for MySejahtera check-ins , premises must still check for those with “ high risk ” status and those placed under House Surveillance Order ( HSO ).
Unfortunately , almost all premises do not bother doing this . Shouldn ’ t the relevant authorities at least conduct spot checks and impose compounds on those flouting the law ? Are we waiting for another spike in new infections before enforcing the law ?
The fact remains that the number of daily new infections is still in the four-figure category . Many countries are also seeing the emergence of the BA . 4 and BA . 5 Omicron subvariants , leading to another wave of infections .
A third subvariant called BA . 2.12.1 has also emerged . Lest we forget , the more deadly Delta variant is still around . It means we must not let our guard down .
As it is , we are seeing a sudden , alarming surge in Hand , Foot and Mouth Disease ( HFMD ) among children . In just a few weeks , a staggering 40,000 cases were reported .
And then , we have the Monkeypox outbreak , which has spread to more than 10 countries . Then we have 17,000 dengue fever cases in the first five months of 2022 compared to 11,000 cases during the same period last year . Even the increasing cases of TB are alarming .
With these health threats , the last thing we need is another surge in Covid-19 infections . Our healthcare system will surely buckle under the severe strain .
The relevant authorities must step up their enforcement and vigilance before it is too late .