to home quarantine herself, while exposing herself to potentially
dangerous diseases.
She had been in body contact with a person confirmed to have Swine Flu
and yet nobody in Malaysian medical authority, including Sungai Buloh
told her to home quarantine herself.
Body contact is literally the case because she is dancing and holding
hands with that person.
Please note that even when symptoms do not appear, a person can still
infect. This is what I got from reading the news. No wonder a
specialist doctor advised her to home quarantine herself.
To be honest, 99% of cases, you will not get infected by a person who
does not show any symptom but just because of that 1%, I am willing to
home quarantine myself.
It is better to err on the side of caution. If no caution were taken
at all, I may infect millions that will result in thousands of death.
1% of 1 million is 10 thousand.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/20/focus/4157753&sec=focus
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Saturday June 20, 2009
Do more to check spread of virus
LAST Sunday night, my friends and I went out and were introduced to a
guy from Singapore. Throughout the night he seemed fine and we were
talking and dancing with him.
On Thursday morning, I was informed that the guy we met on Sunday
tested positive for H1N1.
Worried that I might have caught the disease, I decided to go for a
check-up at a clinic.
The GP told me to call the Sg Buloh Hospital or the Health Ministry
hotline.
At the Sg Buloh Hospital, I was informed that I did not need a check-
up and that I could go about my daily business as usual.
I would only need to go for a check-up if any symptoms arise. Besides,
the risk of infection was low as I came in contact with that guy in an
open area.
But I was dancing with him, holding hands and talking very close to
him. Also, if I were to go to work, I was worried I might spread the
disease in my workplace.
Not assured with the reply, I called the Health Ministry hotline.
I asked if I needed to home quarantine myself.
If not, why do they check and quarantine all passengers who shared the
same flight as the infected patients?
I asked many non-medical personnel and most of them advised me to go
to a hospital. So I headed to the Hospital KL.
At the emergency counter, I informed the medical staff of my situation
but they refused to do a check-up.
I insisted and they referred me to the outpatient counter. I was taken
to an enclosed area to wait for my turn.
In the enclosed area were three others who had flu symptoms.
Though we all wore face masks, I was actually put in a situation where
I could very well pick up the disease. As I waited, more and more
coughing patients came, thus increasing my vulnerability and fear.
After the medical officer consulted the specialist on my situation, I
was told that I need not go through any tests but was to quarantine
myself at home for the next couple of days to monitor for signs of the
symptoms.
Hospitals should allocate a different area for people like me, who had
come in contact with a H1N1 patient but had no symptoms yet.
This would encourage those in a similar situation to come forward and
get confirmation on the need for home quarantine, which would help
reduce the risk of community-level outbreaks.
Medical personnel at the emergency counter refusing potential virus-
carriers a check-up should at least record their accounts and provide
proper advice.
Proper systems/procedures should be put in place and stringently
followed if we wish to combat this pandemic.
GRACE LOH,
Petaling Jaya.
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