By Karen Bong
KUCHING, May 7: Sarawak has yet to report any unusual pediatric hepatitis cases that have spurred urgent investigations by the global health community after nearly 170 children in 12 countries were affected, with 10 per cent of them requiring a liver transplant.
Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian however emphasised that the delayed arrival of the acute hepatitis of unknown origin will allow health authorities and Sarawak to be better prepared with responses, actions, prevention and protection needed of the situation.
“There are things that we do not want to take lead on and being the last in line is better in this case,” he highlighted in a radio programme on REDfm yesterday.
Aware and concerned about the recent significant increase of the hepatitis outbreak in children across the world, Dr Sim said health authorities around the world are still investigating the unexplained cases including to determine whether it is linked to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
“We are monitoring the situation closely, while learning from the global health community on ways to deal with the infection as well as to get better prepared for a potential outbreak.
“Just like in the early days of Covid-19, many of us (medical and health practitioners) have no specific knowledge on how to treat the cases,” the Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government added.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin yesterday reported that Malaysia has detected a suspected case of the acute pediatric hepatitis in a four-year-old child from Sabah who had undergone a liver transplant.
He thus called on parents to immediately take their children to the nearest hospital if they showed any sign of symptoms including jaundice, fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, fatigue and dark urine.
As of yesterday (May 6), the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported that five children have died while it is investigating 109 cases in 25 states and territories in the United States that may be linked to a worldwide outbreak, according to a news report from CNN Health.
At present, the exact cause of hepatitis in these children remains unknown as the common viruses that caused acute viral hepatitis (hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E) have not been detected in any of the cases.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also reported that adenovirus has been detected in the majority of cases, although its role is not clear. — DayakDaily
