NS camps hit by flu, food poisoning

PETALING JAYA (The Star) - It was not a good week for National Service trainees with two different camps being hit, the first by influenza and the second by food poisoning. The Health Ministry sent out an alert about the spread of suspected influenza at the National Service Training Centre in Setia Ikhlas, Semenyih. To date, 30 trainees have started showing symptoms of fever, light cough, sore throat and aching muscles beginning last Thursday. Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said 26 of the trainees were being treated at the camp's isolation room, three were still warded at Kajang Hospital and one has been discharged on Tuesday. The situation in the camp was being closely monitored by the ministry, he said in a statement Wednesday. "This involves vector control through fogging, surveillance and daily monitoring of all trainees and referring all suspected cases to nearby hospitals," he said. Later Wednesday, Kajang Hospital deputy director Dr Sharum Ismail said that three patients came to the hospital with "dengue-like" symptoms. One of them is in the intensive care unit but is stable. The hospital has ruled out H1N1 however, although blood samples have been sent for tests, she said. On Tuesday, the ministry confirmed that Influenza B has been identified as the reason why trainees at the Police Training Centre (Pulapah) in Air Hitam near Bahau fell ill.