CHIKUNGUNYA OUTBREAK

2008/08/09

Johor district worst hit by chikungunya outbreak

By : Syed Umar Ariff

Fang Yun Huat helps his neighbour, M.K. Thangathimuthu, to demonstrate the weakness in his hand after the infection believed to be caused by Chikungunya fever.

TANGKAK: About three weeks ago, Umamaniam Muthusamy had a high fever.

Saraswathy Govinda, Thangathimuthu wife, has similar problems.

Other than headaches, the 49-year-old tuition teacher also suffered from severe joint pains, especially on her arms and hands. These are symptoms of the chikungunya fever.

"It was awful. I couldn't even do the simplest household chores, such as mopping or scrubbing the floor," she said at her house in Jalan Sawmill here yesterday.

"It hurt so much that I could not bend to scrub the floor or even grip the mop."


Umamaniam sought treatment at the Tangkak Hospital, where she was put on saline drips and prescribed some pills for her headache.
She was not hospitalised. Three days later, Umamaniam's fever subsided, but the joint pains have lingered.



"Although I am feeling much better, the joint pains won't go away," she said, adding that her uncle, M.K. Thangathimuthu, 70, and aunt Saraswathy Govinda, 60, who lived nearby, also suffered from the same symptoms.

Umamaniam asked her neighbours whether they had suffered from chikungunya fever.

To her surprise, she discovered that at least one person in every household in her area was down with the symptoms.



"There are about 200 families in this area and you can say that at least one in every family has had high fever."

Tangkak is in the Ledang district, a district in Johor believed to be the worst hit by chikungunya fever.



The New Straits Times reported yesterday that the country was on high alert for chikungunya following outbreaks in Johor, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Malacca.

Umamaniam's neighbour, Fang Yun Huat, 47, said his father, Fang Wai Chee, died three weeks ago after suffering red rashes, high fever and severe joint pains early last month. He was 83.

"Initially, we rushed him to the local hospital, where he was also put on saline drips and given antibiotics.



"We returned home the same day and, to my relief, my father said he felt better."

However, two days later, Wai Chee fell ill again and was later admitted to a specialist centre in Ayer Keroh.

"He died four days from the day he was warded. The doctor did not mention the name of the fever, but said it was new in the country and was carried by mosquitoes."

Meanwhile, Thangathimuthu suspects that swiftlets' nests in buildings near his home might have contributed to the spread of the fever.



"I learnt that several open water retainers were placed in the nests for the birds to bathe and drink.

"I don't think the water is changed often and I believe this place has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes."

ARTICLES SOURCE: http://www.nst.com.my