40 family members put under quarantine

TANAH MERAH: Forty members in a family have been quarantined at a hospital here after a 59-year-old man died of a type of virus that doctors have yet to identify.

The man suffered from a cough and had difficulty breathing before he died at the Tanah Merah Hospital on Monday.

His 28-year-old relative is in critical condition at the same hospital.

Both men had recently returned from Kajang, Selangor after a holiday with their families over the Chinese New Year period.

To avoid the possible spread of infection, doctors decided to quarantine 40 relatives of the man from Kampung Panglima Bayu.

Kelantan Health director Datuk Dr Ahmad Razin Ahmad Maher confirmed that they had been quarantined at the hospital as a precaution and doctors are trying to determine the cause of the infection.

The man's 23-year-old nephew said his uncle suffered breathing difficulties after he and his family members returned from the holidays.

He was told by doctors that his uncle died of pneumonia although he was not known to have suffered from any major diseases.

"Within 24 hours, the 28-year-old relative came down with fever and lung infection," he said on Wednesday.

Another relative said doctors ordered all of them to be quarantined after several of them showed symptoms of infection.