By Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali
IPOH: A total of 61 students from a boarding secondary school in Ipoh have undergone health screenings after an Influenza A cluster was detected, with 46 diagnosed with Influenza-Like Illness (ILI).
The Perak State Health Department (JKN Perak), through the Kinta District Health Office (PKD Kinta), is conducting epidemiological investigations and continuous monitoring to contain the spread of infection among the school community.
Based on screenings conducted as of Sept 14, 14 other students were diagnosed with Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI), while one was diagnosed with conjunctivitis.
Nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) samples were also taken from six students for laboratory testing and confirmation.
In a related development, 57 symptomatic students were brought simultaneously to a nearby health clinic by bus on Sept 14 without prior notification.
The situation disrupted the clinic’s patient management process, particularly as some of the students did not bring identification documents.
Following this, at 2pm on the same day, an integrated team from PKD Kinta and the clinic was deployed to the school to conduct health examinations and screenings at the school.
On Sept 15, the school reported an additional 27 students with symptoms.
However, following further coordination with the clinic, a total of 39 students underwent health assessments that day, including 12 additional symptomatic students identified.
All assessments were completed at 1pm, with all students reported to be in stable condition.
JKN Perak has instructed the school to isolate symptomatic students from others, while those deemed suitable to return home are to be sent home to undergo self-isolation until they recover.
