RESIDENTS of Jalan Wan Empok Satu in Bandar Baru Seri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, are appealing to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to clean up a house in their neighbourhood which they say is a health hazard.They say the double-storey link house is a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests.“I am afraid there will be a dengue outbreak,” said 70-year-old Toh Ching Kang.“I have not contracted dengue, but I have been bitten by mosquitoes in so many places and some of the bites have become infected,’’ Toh said, pointing to his bandaged wounds.He has been in and out of the hospital for the past six months as his wounds have to be cleaned every two days.

His neighbour, V. Rasamany, 72, said she was also worried about contracting dengue.“My husband is 81 years old. I am always worried that he may get dengue or become ill because of the messy house next door.”Another resident living along the same row who only wanted to be known as Ah Foo said he had tried asking the owner to clean up his house to no avail.“I was told the houseowner’s brother died of dengue several years ago and that’s why we are very worried,’’ added Toh.When StarMetro visited the house recently, it was in a deplorable state.The grass and shrubs have not been cut in a long time. A tree inside the compound was overgrown and the fallen leaves have clogged up the drains.There were pails of stagnant water inside the compound and balcony area. Rubbish was everywhere and the back part of the house was overgrown with shrubs and lalang.

Read more: Neighbours in fear of health hazard

SEAWAL pukul 6 pagi, Norazureen Abdullah, 30, sudah bangun dan bersiap sedia untuk membawa anak kembarnya yang berusia lapan bulan untuk mendapatkan suntikan imunisasi di Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.Walaupun tiba awal di klinik tersebut, segala urusan suntikan dan pemeriksaan kesihatan bersama jururawat hanya selesai sekitar 1.30 tengah hari.Namun, menurut anak jati Kuala Lumpur itu, dia tidak sedikit pun berasa lelah menunggu dan sentiasa bersabar dengan perkhidmatan yang diberikan.“Semuanya kerana anak-anak, untuk mengelakkan mereka terkena sebarang penyakit, saya tidak kisah menunggu lama bagi mendapatkan suntikan imunisasi.

“Kalau masa zaman P. Ramlee dahulu tidak perlukan suntikan tetapi sekarang dengan keadaan pencemaran berleluasa serta radikal persekitaran dipenuhi penyakit aneh, vaksin adalah satu kewajipan,” katanya ketika dihubungi K2 di Kuala Lumpur baru-baru ini.Menurut Pertubuhan Kesihatan Sedunia (WHO), penyakit demam campak telah menyaksikan kenaikan sebanyak 30 peratus kes di seluruh dunia, tetapi sebab-sebab peningkatan itu adalah rumit dan tidak semua kes berkenaan disebabkan oleh kebimbangan vaksin.Sesetengah negara yang hampir menghilangkan penyakit itu juga telah mengalami kebangkitan semula termasuk Amerika Syarikat (AS).Data Pusat Kawalan dan Pencegahan Penyakit Amerika Syarikat mencatatkan peratusan kanak-kanak berusia antara 19 hingga 35 bulan yang belum divaksin di negara itu telah meningkat sejak beberapa tahun lalu.

Ancaman

Pada tahun 2000, kes demam campak di AS pernah berada pada bilangan sifar, namun sejak 2018, trend kes itu kembali meningkat disebabkan kewujudan golongan antivaksin.Ancaman terhadap perubatan vaksin semakin serius sehingga ia tercatat sebagai 10 ancaman kesihatan paling bahaya di dunia. Selain vaksin, ancaman kesihatan lain adalah seperti kanser, penyakit jantung, kencing manis, Ebola, HIV, denggi dan lain-lain.Tambah ibu kepada Adam Julian Mohd. Syafik dan Anas Julius Mohd. Syafik, apa yang membuatkannya tidak pernah terlepas daripada mengikuti jadual imunisasi bayinya adalah kerana kedua-dua kembarnya merupakan bayi pramatang.

Read more: Imunisasi anak perlu diberi ikut jadual

KUALA LUMPUR: Keluarga kanak-kanak yang tidak mengambil vaksin seperti ditetapkan menerusi Program Imunisasi (NIP) Kebangsaan (NIP) terpaksa menanggung kos lebih tinggi kerana perlu menjalani pelbagai prosedur rawatan.Pegawai Perubatan Hospital Gleneagles Kuala Lumpur, Dr Marieanne Sundram, berkata sebelum meneruskan rawatan, pakar perlu menjalankan pelbagai penilaian terhadap pesakit berikutan risiko mereka berdepan komplikasi adalah tinggi.Beliau berkata, kanak-kanak berkenaan akan menjalani proses pengasingan untuk melihat tahap keseriusan penyakit dihadapi.

Ketahanan badan lebih rendah

“Sistem ketahanan badan individu terutama kanak-kanak yang tidak divaksin lebih rendah berbanding yang mendapatkan imunisasi.“Sebelum menjalani rawatan lanjut, pesakit yang tidak menerima suntikan akan diasing dalam bilik khas jika rawatan awal tidak menunjukkan tindak balas positif.“Kita menerima kemasukan semua pesakit termasuk yang tidak diberi vaksin untuk rawatan terbaik dalam keadaan kritikal kerana ia prosedur standard di semua pusat rawatan.“Bagaimanapun, sudah pasti mereka perlu menjalani pelbagai prosedur yang dengan sendirinya meningkatkan kos rawatan,” katanya.Dr Marieanne mengulas keengganan ibu bapa menghantar anak mendapatkan suntikan vaksin menerusi program NIP hingga menyebabkan masalah sistem imun badan yang rendah serta mudah dijangkiti penyakit.

Read more: os rawat anak tidak divaksin tinggi, membebankan kerajaan, keluarga

DENGUE continues to be on high alert in Selangor with all the local councils raising the matter at their respective monthly full board meeting.Klang recorded three deaths in January while Petaling Jaya and Ampang Jaya recorded one death each.At the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) meeting, it was learnt that there were 3,199 reported cases.Stating that the matter had gone out of control, MPK deputy president Adi Faizal Ahmad Tarmizi said the council now resorted to issuing compounds to residents instead of its usual warning notices.Since January, MPK has issued 14 compounds to residents.“We are also working with the Klang Health Department to eradicate dengue and noticed that the rise in dengue was due to the lack of public education,” he said.Port Klang assemblyman Azmizam Zaman Huri, who was also present at the meeting, said his office was open to any residents who want to hold a gotong-royong to clean up their neighbourhood.

The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) meeting learnt of the one death due to dengue and that the city has almost 300% increase in cases until week eight of this year compared to last year.The death was recorded at Gugusan Melur Section 4, Petaling Jaya Utara in Kota Damansara.There were 1,097 cases recorded since early this year as compared to only 278 cases same time last year, said Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain.“Both Shah Alam and Subang Jaya have higher number of dengue cases as compared to Petaling Jaya, but we are still concerned.“Gotong-royong sessions are important but we need to also inspect inside the houses at all hotspots,” said Mohd Azizi.

Read more: More dengue deaths in Selangor

PETALING JAYA: Once a week since December 2017, Sivasangaran Ku­­ma­ran will strap his 21-month-old daughter Swathi Nisha Nair in the car seat and make the long drive from Seremban to Hospital Kuala Lumpur.At the hospital, Swathi gets three vials of drugs injected into her body as part of her enzyme replacement therapy.After that, Sivasangaran will drive her home and gets her ready for the next in a medley of treatments, including aquatherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy.Little Swathi is battling a rare disease called Infantile Pompe Disease.It is a genetic disorder that prevents the body from breaking down glycogen into simple glucose, causing severe damage to the muscles.“The amount of medication and therapies she has to go through is taxing for a child who is less than two years old and taxing for us pa­rents, too, because it’s costly,” said Sivasangaran, 40, adding that his wife had sacrificed her career to take care of Swathi.

Swathi’s weekly enzyme replacement therapy alone costs RM7,500 per session.Sivasangaran and his wife received the heartbreaking diagnosis when Swathi was only seven months old after a prolonged pneumonia led to the discovery of her failing heart.In trying to secure treatment and funding for Swathi, Sivasangaran saw himself struggling with what every rare disease patient and family face – lack of access to medication, funding, medical knowledge and little protection of the rights and dignity of patients.“In Malaysia, as there is no official registry for rare diseases, we are not able to track the actual number of rare disease patients.“We don’t have statistics and numbers on these diseases,” he said.

Read more: Need for rare disease policy