SHAH ALAM, AUG 24: A diphtheria case involving a 3-year-old child was reported by the Selangor Health Department.
Health Director General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the child was never given immunisation against diphtheria as the family practices homeopathy.
“The child has been feverish, coughing and vomiting since August 13. The patient was brought to Sungai Buloh Hospital on August 18 due to breathing difficulties and was taken to the Intensive Care Unit for treatment and close monitoring.
“A throat swab culture test on the patient was found to be positive for Corynebacterium diphtheria. The patient received an antitoxin treatment and is still being given antibiotics,” he said in a media statement.
He said that so far, all 14 close contacts of the child were in good health including the three who were living together with the patient and 11 more at the nanny’s house. However, the immunisation status of all the contacts are still incomplete and they are still being monitored.
Dr Noor Hisham said that the number of verified diphtheria cases in Malaysia so far has increased to 27 cases, including five deaths and nine cases in Kedah with one death, seven cases in Negeri Sembilan, five cases in Sabah with three deaths, three cases in Malacca with one death, two cases in Pulau Pinang and one new case in Selangor.
He stressed that the term ‘homeopathic vaccine’ is not certified by the international homeopathy organisation, including the Malaysian Homeopathic Medical Council.
“Moreover, these organisations support conventional vaccination as an effective and safe protection from vaccine-preventable diseases and their complications.
“Vaccine has been proven of its effectiveness and safety through large scale scientific studies before it is used on humans,” he said.
Hence, he calls upon all parents to ensure that their children below the age of 7 are vaccinated.
“Make sure they are given complete vaccination for optimum effectiveness to avoid infectious vaccine-preventable diseases and their complications,” he said.
