PUTRAJAYA: The mySalam insurance protection scheme for the B40 will cover those who are diagnosed with critical illness from Jan 1, said Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (pic).Those with pre-existing conditions will not be covered and neither should those with good health register for the scheme.“We have to set a time-frame for those who can sign up. It has been decided that it should be from Jan 1.“Those who do not have any medical condition also cannot pre-register but if they fall ill later, they can be part of the scheme,” he said.The scheme was launched in January and is set to benefit some 3.69 million people nationwide.The scheme was announced during the tabling of Budget 2019 with an initial fund size of RM2bil contributed by insurance company Great Eastern.The 36 critical illnesses covered by the scheme include cancer, heart attacks and Alzheimer’s.

Recipients will receive a one-off payment of RM8,000 if they are diagnosed with one of the illnesses.Each will also receive daily payments of RM50 for up to 14 days as income replacement.Lim said there is no limit on how many people in the family could claim for mySalam benefits.“If more than one person in a family has been inflicted with critical illness, how can we turn them down?” he said.He also said while some were of the opinion that the money for this scheme could be used to improve health facilities, the minister said that the financial benefits go a long way for those in the B40.

KUALA LUMPUR: Amidst pressure against Malaysia for using compulsory licensing (CL) to gain access to generic versions of a Hepatitis C drug, the Health Ministry has urged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to look into the pricing system of medicine by big pharmaceutical companies.Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye (pic) said while Malaysia could exercise the rights provided for under the World Trade Organisation’s agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the scope is limited to government use only.“Even though we have a strong ground to exercise the right, the Health Ministry, the Health Minister, myself, (Pharmaceutical Service Programme senior director) Dr Ramli Zainal, the Prime Minister, Economic Affairs Minister get frequent calls from pharmaceutical companies, the United States’ ambassador and the US Trade Representative.

“You can see the pressure mounting on us. I hope the international community could look at how pharmaceutical companies price their medicine,” he said at the forum on Improving Access to Affordable Cancer Treatments in Malaysia yesterday.“We may think rich countries subsidise lower income countries but some drug prices in the private sector are comparable or higher than those in advanced countries. There is an anomaly in terms of pricing,” he said.Dr Lee said he was not a socialist and recognised that capitalism drove innovation but the “profit and loss” balance sheet system of rewarding innovators should be reviewed, especially for the medical fraternity.He said in the past, there had been plenty of advances in medicine because the medical fraternity shared information without reward.

SMOKING and sweet tooth – these are two major health-related beha­viours of Malaysians that have become the target of government intervention for a healthier society.Statistically, 10 Malaysians die daily from lung cancer with smoking as the leading risk factor, and one in two is obese, a condition attributed to high intake of sugar coupled with a sedentary lifestyle.Therefore, introducing a ban on public smoking and taxing sweet beverages should be a move in the right direction. On the former, the ban is expected to not only stop people from smoking, it would also protect the public from the harm of second-hand smoke. That is why, when the ban was enforced on Jan 1, it received widespread support from the public.

However, the same boisterous public support was nowhere to be found when the tax on sugar was first announced. The responses remain mixed and many, expert and public alike, are questioning the effectiveness of the new tax in addressing the obesity problem plaguing Malaysia.But to reject the tax altogether because Malaysians are unwilling to renounce their sweet tooth is a lazy compromise. Imposing the sugar tax is not the perfect solution but it is a great start. Perhaps it will not change the individual’s behaviour but it will certainly force manufacturers to start reducing the sugar content in their products or making a switch to a lower glycaemic index sweetener.

KUALA LUMPUR: Kementerian Kesihatan (KKM) menasihati ibu bapa untuk memastikan anak mereka mendapat imunisasi vaksin lima serangkai yang lengkap bagi melindungi mereka daripada pelbagai ancaman penyakit termasuk jangkitan difteria.Ketua Pengarah Kesihatan, Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, berkata vaksin difteria terkandung dalam vaksin lima serangkai DTaP-IPV//Hib bagi menghindari Difteria, Pertusis, Tetanus, Polio dan Haemophilus Influenzae Type B."Ia diberikan pada usia dua, tiga, lima dan 18 bulan. Liputan imunisasi yang melebihi 95 peratus dalam komuniti akan memberi imuniti kelompok dan melindungi kanak-kanak daripada dijangkiti bakteria ini."Kanak-kanak yang telah menerima imunisasi lengkap hanya akan mengalami gejala ringan apabila dijangkiti dan terlindung daripada komplikasi.

"Justeru, KKM ingin memberi penekanan betapa pentingnya kanak-kanak diberikan imunisasi yang lengkap termasuk vaksin difteria bagi memberikan perlindungan terhadap jangkitan penyakit dan mencegah berlaku komplikasi akibat jangkitan," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini hari ini.Menurut Dr Noor Hisham, difteria adalah penyakit yang disebabkan oleh bakteria Corynebacterium diphteriae yang tersebar melalui titisan cecair pernafasan.Bakteria itu menjangkiti tekak (tonsil dan farinks) dan menghasilkan toksin yang menyebabkan keradangan di sekitar tekak dan bengkak leher yang boleh menyebabkan pesakit sukar bernafas."Toksin ini juga boleh menyerap ke dalam darah, melumpuhkan saraf dan menyebabkan keradangan jantung (miokarditis) yang menyebabkan kematian. Jangkitan difteria mempunyai kadar kematian yang tinggi, iaitu antara 25 ke 50 peratus," katanya.Semalam media melaporkan seorang kanak-kanak perempuan berusia tujuh tahun yang berasal dari Ujong Pasir, Melaka meninggal dunia di Hospital Melaka pada Sabtu lepas akibat dijangkiti bakteria difteria.

I REFER to the letter urging the government to go on an aggressive campaign to educate people, particularly in rural areas, and set up multiple vaccination centres in light of a measles threat looming large in South-East Asia, “Measles threat must be dealt with swiftly” (The Star, Feb 18).In public discussions about the vaccine controversy, the parents themselves tend to be left out, so I would like to take readers through the decision-making process of one such parent. This might provide some reassurance for other parents and some issues for doctors to ponder over.I shall call the disease “Disease A” and vaccine for the disease “Vaccine A”. I won’t discuss the need for a particular vaccine, just the issue that frightens parents the most, namely severe adverse effects (AE).The human body does not ordinarily self-injure in response to external antigens. Hence, it is very unlikely that the small amount of external antigen we receive in vaccines can cause severe injury. Indeed, numerous studies have shown that vaccines are extraordinarily safe medical interventions.

The case is summed up in an article “Vaccines and Autism Revisited – The Hannah Poling Case” published in The New England Journal of Medicine, May 15, 2008.The Vaccine Injury Court (VIC) in the United States compensated this child using the Vaccine Injury Compensation Programme (VICP).However, lost in the fine print were a few details. Firstly, VICs usually depend on three conditions being fulfilled: The child was 1) vaccinated, 2) did suffer the specific injuries listed in the “Table of Injuries”, and 3) suffered injuries within the specified time frame.These courts apparently do not make the determinations of cause and effect conclusively: For example, the vaccine caused injury, or another concurrent event contributed towards injury after vaccination, or injury caused by underlying illness.In short, the court does not actually have to declare that the vaccine caused the adverse effects to award compensation.

Polemik mengenai kesan sampingan vaksin virus papiloma manusia (HPV) menjadi penyumbang masalah sosial dalam kalangan isu yang diketengahkan segelintir individu dalam laman sosial Facebook baru-baru ini.Pandangan pihak berkenaan dipercayai mendakwa vaksin HPV yang diketahui umum sebagai pencegahan barah pangkal rahim (kanser serviks) sebagai agenda Yahudi.Lanjutan kepada isu itu, pihak berkenaan berpendapat kesan sampingan termasuklah andaian mengenai kecenderungan remaja perempuan untuk terbabit dalam aktiviti kelamin lebih tinggi dan aktif. Selain itu mereka menyifatkan gadis yang aktif dalam aktiviti seks tidak perlu khuatir dengan jangkitan kelamin seperti HPV kerana sudah ada ubat mampu mencegah penyakit berkenaan.

Dakwaan itu dibidas Pakar Runding Obstetrik dan Ginekologi Dr Nurul Khairiyah Khairuddin yang berkata, vaksinasi HPV itu penting dalam menjaga kesihatan wanita terutama menangani masalah kanser serviks - antara kanser yang sering dihidapi wanita seluruh dunia.Ketika ini, kanser serviks ialah kanser keempat yang paling kerap dihidapi wanita di peringkat global dengan kira-kira 270,000 kematian pesakit wanita di seluruh dunia.Di Malaysia, kira-kira 2,000 kes dilaporkan setiap tahun dan menjadi kanser ketiga yang kerap dihidapi wanita. Justeru suntikan vaksin HPV adalah satu keperluan dalam menangani masalah kanser pangkal rahim dan lain-lain dibawa oleh virus berkenaan.“Kalau dirujuk pada perkembangan terkini mengenai program vaksinasi percuma yang dilaksanakan di Australia membabitkan kanak-kanak perempuan seawal umur 12 dan 13 tahun pada sekitar 2007, ia membawa kepada penurunan drastik membabitkan HPV dalam kalangan wanita berumur 18 hingga 24 tahun.

“Kadar penurunan kes HPV sekitar 20 peratus pada 2005 menjadi kepada satu peratus pada 2015, apatah lagi apabila ia dikembangkan kepada kanak-kanak lelaki pada 2013.“Malah dengan usaha berterusan termasuk program saringan untuk wanita 25 tahun dan ke atas setiap lima tahun menjadikan negara berkenaan bakal menjadi negara pertama yang bebas kanser serviks berdasarkan tiada kes baharu dilaporkan dalam tempoh 10 hingga 20 tahun berdasarkan program vaksinasi HPV percuma dilaksanakan negara itu.“Rasanya itu jawapan kukuh betapa pemberian vaksin berkenaan perlu dilaksanakan seawal usia lagi iaitu dalam lingkungan 13 hingga 15 tahun dalam mempersiapkan ketahanan tubuh gadis daripada menghadapi serangan virus HPV.

PUTRAJAYA: Kementerian Kesihatan menjelaskan buat masa ini, Skim Peduli Kesihatan Untuk Kumpulan B40 (PeKa B40) masih dalam fasa projek perintis dan belum lagi dilancarkan sepenuhnya.Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad berkata pelancaran yang diadakan pada 28 Januari lalu adalah sesi pelancaran media yang bertujuan meningkatkan kesedaran orang ramai terhadap skim PeKa B40.

Katanya, pada fasa ini, ia juga membuka ruang untuk Kementerian Kesihatan mengkaji penerimaan rakyat serta pemegang taruh lain terhadap skim ini.Beliau berkata pembabitan dan sokongan setiap pemegang taruh adalah amat penting bagi memastikan kejayaan skim PeKa B40, iaitu satu inisiatif yang memberi fokus kepada jalinan kerjasama awam–swasta melalui pembiayaan daripada dana kerajaan.

KUALA LUMPUR: Insurance companies should provide coverage for the expenditure on cosmetic surgeries on cancer patients as it is not merely for cosmetic purposes, but as part of their therapy to live a normal life, says National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) honorary patron Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.She said insurance companies should not wait for the government to make the needed changes to Bank Negara Malaysia’s provisions on medical coverage on cosmetic surgeries or prosthetics.“If you lose a breast (due to cancer) and you want to have an implant, it is not cosmetic, but it is for the patient to want to feel like a woman again,” she said after a cheque presentation to underprivileged families with children with cancer organised by the National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM).Rafidah said under the present Bank Negara guidelines on medical coverage, such cosmetic surgeries for cancer patients are still not regarded as surgical fees.“We hope the government will look into these provisions and make the changes.”

She pointed out that although the EPF and private insurance company AIA allow people to access their savings in cases of cosmetic surgery for cancer patients or a relapse, other insurance companies have yet to follow suit.“There was a time when people could not access their savings for cancer treatments such as having prosthetics. It was regarded as cosmetic. It is a replacement of something that is gone and it is a part of the continuation process of normal life,” said Rafidah.On another matter, Rafidah, who sits in the Economic Action Council (EAC), said there is no one cure or an instant cure for an ailing economy with the setting up of just one council.“Nobody should ever claim that one council would enable us to cure everything. That is being silly.

JOHOR BAHRU: Jabatan Kesihatan Negeri (JKN) Johor berkata kantin Hospital Sultan Ismail (HSI) di sini, diarahkan tutup selama dua minggu bermula semalam hingga 28 Februari.Pengarah Kesihatan negeri, Dr Selahuddeen Abd Aziz, berkata arahan penutupan itu berikutan pemeriksaan oleh Pejabat Kesihatan Daerah (PKD) Johor Bahru mendapati pengusaha kantin gagal mematuhi beberapa piawaian di bawah Seksyen 11, Akta Makanan 1983.Katanya, pemeriksaan itu adalah tindakan proaktif susulan aduan gambar tular yang memaparkan seekor tikus di tempat letak makanan yang mendakwa berlaku di HSI, meskipun pihaknya masih tidak dapat memastikan kesahihan lokasi kantin dan masa gambar berkenaan diambil.

“Arahan penutupan kantin sudah dikeluarkan bagi membolehkan kerja pembersihan secara menyeluruh dijalankan dan hanya akan dibenarkan dibuka semula apabila tahap kebersihan dapat dicapai dengan sempurna serta mematuhi syarat yang ditetapkan.“JKN Johor juga ingin memaklumkan bahawa kerja kawalan serangga dan haiwan perosak adalah satu daripada skop kerja penyelenggaraan Planned Preventive Maintenance (PPM) dalam program penswastaan Perkhidmatan Sokongan Hospital (PSH),” katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini, hari ini.Dr Selahuddeen berkata, syarikat konsesi yang dilantik akan menjalankan kawalan tikus menerusi aktiviti pemeriksaan rutin dan PPM mengikut frekuensi yang ditetapkan iaitu pada setiap hari dan setiap bulan menggunakan pelbagai kaedah seperti penggunaan umpan dan perangkap serta menutup laluan tikus serta penghapusan tempat pembiakannya.

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