El Nino triggered over 200 heat-related cases

OVER 200 cases of heat-related illnesses were reported during the El Nino period, said the Health Ministry.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said as of May 4, 212 cases were reported by government health facilities.

“This comprises 52 cases of heat cramps, 136 cases of heat exhaustion and 24 cases of heatstroke,” he said in a written reply to Dr Mansor Abd Rahman (BN-Sik).

Dr Mansor asked about the number of heatstroke-related cases and the Government’s efforts to manage them.

Dr Subramaniam said the number of cases reported included two fatalities, one in Segamat, Johor, and the other in Jitra, Kedah.

He said the ministry had issued guidelines for the public so that people would take preventive measures until the hot season was over.

These, he added, included postponing or limiting extreme sports activities, drinking sufficient water and dressing in light and bright-coloured clothes to avoid heat absorption when outdoors.

Meanwhile, nearly 20,000 illegitimate children were born to underage women in the past three years, said the Home Ministry.

The National Registration Depart­ment said there were 19,230 children born to women aged under 18.

“In the same period, the police recorded 326 cases of baby dumping,” it said in a written reply to Datuk Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad (PAS-Pasir Puteh).

Dr Nik Mazian had asked to state the number of illegitimate children born to underage women and the number of baby dumping cases recorded.