Health Ministry to study cause of myokymia suffered by student following Sungai Kim Kim pollution

Workers cleaning up the contaminants from Sungai Kim Kim after hundreds of people were affected while it also forced the closure of the schools.

CYBERJAYA (Bernama): The Health Ministry will conduct further examinations to identify the actual cause of myokymia suffered by student, Irfan Wafiy Idham Wazir, after he was believed to have been exposed to the toxic pollution in Sungai Kim Kim, Pasir Gudang, in March.

Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the ministry must determine whether the ailment that caused several parts of the body to tremble was related to the toxic pollution.

"There are many possibilities for myokymia, sometimes it is due to brain tumour or other diseases. So, we must identify what is the cause of the ailment before we make any conclusion.

"We will conduct further investigation and examination whether it is related to the pollution or not,’’ he said when met by reporters after delivering a keynote address at the 2019 Sustainable Development Target Conference here Thursday (July 4).

Irfan Wafiy, 12, a pupil of SK Taman Bukit Dahlia, Pasir Gudang, was warded at the Sultan Ismail Hospital, Johor Baru, for breathing difficulties after sniffing poisonous gas at school.

Irfan Wafiy was confirmed positive with myokymia after he was referred to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

The toxic pollution in Sungai Kim Kim last March affected about 4,000 residents including students and resulted in the temporary closure of 111 schools. - Bernama