Dengue claims grandma while grandsons end up in hospital

KUANTAN: When it rains, it pours. For a family in the village of Panji Alam, the monsoon rain brought along Aedes mosquitoes.

Housewife Ramlah Mohammad, 49, said when her mother-in-law Ramlah Jusoh, 73, fell sick early last month, she didn’t think it was dengue as none of her neighbours had contracted it.

Ramlah said when her mother-in-law did not recover after two weeks, her family insisted she go to the hospital.

“You know how the elderly are. Kena cubit-cubit baru pergi (have to force them to go),” she said.

The elderly Ramlah was admitted to Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahira on Dec 9.

Although her condition stabilised at first, it suddenly worsened and she passed away on Dec 11.

Ramlah Mohammad told The Star that her eldest son Amir Ikhwanudin Sherifudin, 27, also contracted dengue when he attended his grandmother’s wake.

A teacher for special needs children, Amir Ikhwanudin had been holidaying in Krabi and Hatyai, Thailand, with his colleagues, but rushed home immediately upon hearing the news.

“Not just Amir, but his two younger brothers who had been home for the school holidays also fell ill.

“Sometimes luck is cruel,” said Ramlah.

She added that her family had never had dengue before despite living in the area for over two decades.

Panji Alam was one of the worst affected villages, recording 17 of the 83 dengue cases here, according to Health Ministry data as of Jan 12.