Thursday, April 30, 2009

THE SWINE FLU INFLUENZA A (H1N1 VIRUS)

The dangerous stage begins now. I don't like how they have the many variations of the virus, sounds like Hepatitis too. I was in KL during the JE (Japanese encephalitis) virus outbreak in 1999. That was one of the most scariest experiences in life. I recalled seeing a mosquito is worst than seeing ghost. You have to avoid contact from any mosquito at all costs to save your own life! Nobody dares to eat pork then and I remembered the members of parliament have to promote bak kut teh in Klang to give the impression to the public that it is safe to eat pork. If I am not mistaken, it is also because of this outbreak that Singapore has since stop importing pork from Malaysia.

I was in the sea on a motorboat visiting islands of the north of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah during the tsunami 26th December 2004. We were in the sea around 9am-3pm. The waves were ferocious and moving quite violently then but luckily we were not affected. My mom was on the plane going towards Brisbane when the September 11, 2001 tragedy happened. She said Brisbane was heavily guarded since Bill Clinton was on holiday there then.

I was in Singapore in 2003 during the SARS outbreak, which is deadly too. We had to take temperature everytime before going into the exam hall. After exam, we can see an army of cleaners entering the exam halls to disinfect it. The toilets were cleaned many times a day and the smell of disinfection chemicals and Dettol was everywhere. I recalled we had to purposely freeze our ears at the bus airconditioning vents to cool ourselves down before reaching the exam venue from the hostel. In the hostel, we had to go down to take our temperature daily. If you miss a day, you will be fined S$50. We have to also declare our temperature online. I recalled the MRT was so empty when I went for rides. They had to wipe the escalator hand grip full time. Whenever someone cough a little or sneeze a little in the MRT, everyone will look at the person like a suspicious terrorist or the most hated person on earth. That was how intense things had become. We had deaths in campus as well as infections detected close to campus at Pasir Panjang so everyone was going through a really tough time.

Compared to the JE virus, the current H1N1 virus may not even be close as deadly. I recalled those who got it then will go into the stage of coma and died just few days over. It was a painful period when you read about how the virus wiped out the entire family. It was common then to read about a child who has both parents going into coma stage and they died one after another. Some of the children got infected too, went into coma within days and died within days. That was how deadly the virus can kill.

However, WHO seems to suggest that H1N1 has a potential to evolve / mutate to become far more powerful than what it is now. The scariest thing about this virus is that you won't know you will get infected as soon as possible as the symptoms may come say 1 month later. SARS was different because as soon as you have high fever, the chances are higher. There is a company which says it has a test kit to detect infection within 2 hours. I am not sure how effective it really is.

I have been receiving many circulars today where they may go to the SARS stage of taking your temperature everyday and may even order you to wear masks. WHO has raised the alert to five on a scale of six. The Singapore causeway CIQ is already arranging a space in the entrance area for a space of possibly temperature monitoring devices and the queue lines to be in place. I have a friend who worked with those machines during the SARS period and he shared with me that he will never want to work with them again, even how high the pay was then. While our Malaysia side is still in the TIDAK APA mode, without anything at all in place. Business as usual...

I have a friend who is planning to visit Vietnam tomorrow, my family is planning a cruise trip from Singapore to Phuket this weekend while we have a conference in Montreal to go in mid June. This is definitely not the best time to go and enjoy a holiday or attend conferences. We have to monitor constantly. Until then, we hope this flu will not last as long as SARS (which is about 8 months) or even longer or turning into a pandemic. Stay safe people, be careful and take good care of your health (avoid getting a cough or flu)! Take good care of your loved ones, especially young children and old folks! Be vigilant!

Phase five, one step short of a full pandemic, is characterised as a "strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalise... the planned mitigation measures is short," the WHO global emergency planning says.

Swine Flu FAQ

Practise good personal hygiene and be socially responsible by:

a. Washing your hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water, especially before touching your eyes, nose or mouth;
b. Turning quickly away from anyone near you if you are about to cough or sneeze, and do not cough or sneeze at him;
c. Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Dispose of the tissue properly in the dust bin after use;
d. Avoiding crowded places if you are unwell and wear a surgical mask to cover your nose and mouth;
e. Staying home from work or school when you are sick; and
f. Using a serving spoon when sharing food at meal times.

Also, leading a healthy lifestyle helps to build up your immunity and protects you against infection.

a. Eat a balanced diet, including plenty of fruit and vegetables.
b. Be active. Do 30 minutes of physical activity at least 5 days a week.
c. Learn to relax and have enough sleep and rest.
d. Do not smoke.

Members of the public who have travelled to affected places and who develop respiratory illness with fever (Temperature > 38 degree C) within seven days after their return should put on a surgical mask and seek medical consultation immediately. They should also disclose their travel histories to their doctors.

CRUCIAL INFORMATION:
Singapore
You should call 993 if you have symptoms of swine flu and had recently travelled to areas which have cases of swine flu (please refer to MOH website for latest list of affected areas).

Malaysia
Some 28 public hospitals throughout Malaysia have been identified by the ministry to deal with the health threat should the situation call for it. Among the criteria the hospitals must have are isolation wards, specialist doctors and Tamiflu antiviral stock.

“In the public sector hospitals, we have enough antiviral stock for 10 per cent of the population, which is for more than 2.6 million people if they are affected,” the official said.

Below is a list of the hospitals according to state:

Perlis

Hospital Tuanku Fauziah, Kangar

Kedah

Hospital Kedah, Alor Star; Hospital Kulim; Hospital Langkawi

Penang

Hospital Besar Pulau Pinang

Perak

Hospital Ipoh; Hospital Slim River

Selangor

Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang; Hospital Sungai Buloh; Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, Petaling Jaya

Federal Territory

Hospital Kuala Lumpur

Negri Sembilan

Hospital Seremban

Malacca

Hospital Malacca

Johor

Hospital Sultanah Aminah, Johor Baru; Hospital Batu Pahat

Pahang

Hospital Kuantan; Hospital Temerloh

Terengganu

Hospital Kuala Terengganu

Kelantan

Hospital Kota Baru; Hospital Tumpat

Sarawak

Hospital Kuching; Hospital Sibu; Hospital Miri; Hospital Bintulu

Labuan

Hospital Labuan

Sabah

Hospital Queen Elizabeth, Kota Kinabalu; Hospital Sandakan; Hospital Tawau

To find out more about swine-flu and for updates, please visit the ministry's website at www.moh.gov.my or call: 03-8881-0200/03-8881-0300 or email: cprc@moh.gov.my This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

MAN U’S BEST LINE-UP TO FACE MALAYSIA ON JULY 18

PETALING JAYA, April 28 — English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester United (MU) will field their first team against the Malaysian national team in a match at the National Stadium, Bukit Jalil, on July 18.

The match promoter, Proevents International Sdn Bhd (Proevents), said however that the full list of the players coming under team manager Sir Alex Ferguson would be disclosed later.

“The team will arrive in Kuala Lumpur one day before the match and there will be a lot of competitions for the fans to win the passes or tickets to watch the training seasions and the match,” Proevents managing director San Boon Wah told a news conference at Wisma FAM here today.

San said Kuala Lumpur would be their first destination for the Red Devils in their Asian Tour 2009 before heading to Indonesia on July 20, South Korea (July 24) and two days later in China.

The ticket prices would be announced in 10 days times and would range from RM50 to RM90.

San said that the tour to Kuala Lumpur would be great because the team had a big fan base here and the exposure would be worldwide and broadcast to almost 400 million households.

Meanwhile, Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) general secretary Datuk Azzuddin Ahmad said the match would be played at 5.30pm, at the request of the the Red Devils.

“We are looking forward to the match because it will be one of the best exposures for the national team against a quality team such as MU,” he said.

Azzuddin said the list of player who would represent the national team would be decided by national coach K. Rajagobal but the FAM promised that the match would be worth the price.

“Rajagobal will have at least 10 days training to select the best players and we have rescheduled a few of the Malaysian League matches,” he said.

The tour is the Carling Cup and World Cup Club champions’ fourth trip to Malaysia, after 1991, 1995 and 2001 when they hammered the Malaysian national team 6-0.

In July 2007, their friendly match in Kuala Lumpur had to be cancelled due to the clash of dates with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup. Kuala Lumpur was one of the four hosts for the AFC Cup. — Bernama

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DIEHARDX GOES SOUTH KOREA DAY 4 OF 8

This is Day 4. We are having bread for the first time with abalone porridge / congee. OK, very small abalones.

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Can you spot any baby abalones?

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We left Jeju Island and return to Seoul.

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We went straight to Kimchi School.

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The teacher explained the procedures of making kimchi. It was then that they told us most of the kimchi you eat in the streets and overseas are made in China. Therefore, they are not as fresh and hygenic.

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This is me trying to wrap the kimchi up in style. Unfortunately, we can't even eat our own kimchi. It has to be donated to the poor.

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We went to wear the traditional Korean costumes. Hanbok.

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The children version.

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We went to The Face Shop later for some shopping. This is like Korean version of The Body Shop.

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Next, we had ginseng chicken meal. Of course, they don't give you kick ass 100 years old ginseng, just some ginseng finest root ends.

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Their mee sua is quite nice actually. We were given white wine to be added into the soup to give the nice mix. However, the chicken tasted really bad, probably worse than those RM9.90 chicken you can find in Giant Supermarket in Malaysia.

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We later went to this holiday retreat getaway resort / mansion of the emperor.

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You can see how the many layers of protection they have for the different climate conditions of the year as well as for ventilation.

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Alright, you don't need me to explain this stuff right?

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There is a compound or square where many traditional games / sports can be played.

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I thought I should show the price of petrol in Korea. (1000 KRW approximately SGD1)

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We went shopping at Dongdaemun. It is literally translated to great eastern gate. It is the gate that the wall surrounding Seoul was located during the Joseon Dynasty. It is basically the largest shopping center of South Korea today.

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Eventhough the tour guide reminded us that street food is not clean, we just could not stand people buying them all around us. We just have to try it no matter what happens.

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We went to Lotte World later.

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Managed to enjoy a few rides.

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It has the outdoor and indoor portions.

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Later, we went for normal Korean dinner.

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Bibimbap, which literally means mixed rice.

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We reached Sheraton Grande Walker Hill later for our accomodation of the night. It may feel tight but it is definitely very posh.

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We went to the casino later to win some money. OK, I just played enough to win a keychain souvenir. This casino is only open to foreigners.

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The view outside our bedroom.

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