Health Ministry: Illegals likely cause of spike in typhoid cases

KUALA LUMPUR: Illegal migrants working as food handlers here may be the cause of the spike in typhoid cases here, as they would not have undergone compulsory medical screening, says Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahya (pic).

The Deputy Health Minister said foreign workers had to undergo the Fomema medical screening before being certified for employment, but illegal workers were not subject to compulsory anti-typhoid injections.

"The problem may lie with illegal workers who are not screened and may be carriers of the disease.

"We are still investigating the source and carriers of the disease," he told reporters at Parliament lobby Tuesday.

Dr Hilmi said there was a mix of locals and foreigners who contracted the disease, but did not specify how many in each group.

A total of 32 cases have been reported in Kuala Lumpur since August.

Asked if the incidents amounted to an outbreak, Dr Hilmi stopped short of calling it as such.

"We usually see one or two cases in and around the country, but there seems to be an increase here recently," he said, adding that the Ministry was aggressively investigating the cases.

Dr Hilmi said that it would not affect the city's image as a tourist destination, since measures were being taken to deal with the issue.

He advised the public to only patronise eateries that had been certified clean and hygienic by City Hall.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said local eateries were not encouraged to hire foreigners to prepare food following the spike of typhoid fever here.

The Federal Territories Minister said he had requested the Ministry's licensing division to meet with food operators and conduct random spot check on cleanliness and the hiring of foreigners in the kitchen.

"If the operators do not follow our rules, we will revoke their licenses," he told reporters at the parliament lobby on Tuesday.

He said the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) would cooperate with the Health Ministry to monitor and find solution to ease the problem.

Thyphoid fever is caused by the bacteria Salmonella typhi and is spread by eating food or water contaminated by bodily waste from an infected person.