PUTRAJAYA: Health minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has denied claims of a tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in the Klang Valley, saying the situation is under control.
“There’s no epidemic or outbreak. TB cases are always around the corner and we are constantly monitoring their distribution in the Klang Valley.
“The health department is studying this issue and we hope the public will stop spreading unverified information that will cause panic,” Zaliha told reporters after launching the World AMR Awareness Week 2023 at Putrajaya today.
Over the past few days, a notice from the management office of a Klang Valley apartment complex went viral after it claimed there was an outbreak in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur.
The notice sighted by FMT read: “The Cheras health department informed that there was a confirmed outbreak of active TB cases in Cheras as of Nov 10, 2023,” adding that there were more than 100 active cases.
However, Zaliha said the disease is under control, and the people may acquire updates from the MySejahtera app.
“We encourage anyone who is displaying symptoms of TB to receive treatment.
“In Mysehajtera, you can see the total number of cases in different areas. There’s no outbreak right now, it is still under control,” she said.
According to the MySejahtera tracker on infectious diseases, there have been 11 TB cases reported in Cheras in the past 60 days.
Zaliha also said her ministry has launched the Malaysian health action plan for 2022-2026, in conjunction with world antimicrobial resistance (AMR) awareness week along with the One Health initiative to tackle the issue.
“The One Health initiative is a combined effort that involves multiple disciplines to find solutions that can benefit the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment.
“AMR is a complex and cross-sectorial challenge that affects not just us but also animals and our environment, and it is detrimental to food security, economic development and our ability to battle any pandemic.
“It has caused more than 1.2 million deaths across the globe while Malaysia has recorded 8,700 related deaths since records began,” she said.
