KUALA LUMPUR, May 30 – Malaysia has intensified health screening and border control measures following global concerns over hantavirus outbreaks, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.
Although no Malaysian cases have been reported, he stressed that public health threats are global and continuous vigilance is necessary.
The Health Ministry’s Institute for Medical Research is equipped to detect hantavirus using PCR technology.
While health inspections at airports, seaports and international entry points have been strengthened. Dzulkefly said authorities have inspected 22,367 ships and boats.
Issuing 2,421 pratique certificates and 1,146 Ship Sanitation Certificates to ensure vessels meet health standards.
Hantavirus, spread through contaminated rodent droppings, urine or saliva, can cause severe complications, with Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome carrying a mortality rate of up to 40 per cent.
