We refer to the Malaysiakini report A (H1N1) flu: Two more schools closed .

The Malaysian Association of Standards Users is gravely concerned about the handling of the spread of the Influenza A in Malaysia lately.

The Ministry of Health website does not provide adequate information to educate and inform public on what they should do if they develop symptoms similar to Influenza A.

Or rather there is no proper guidance given on the site. Most of the important information is buried in piles of other news and articles related to the disease.

There have been many complaints regarding the hassle people have to go though and the lack of seriousness of hospital staff in attending to people who come to report their symptoms and whether they were on a certain flight with someone who was confirmed with the H1N1 virus.

Hospital staff are giving inconsistent information to people who report symptoms. Some of the websites of hospitals listed on the Health Ministry’s reference list are not active.

When we tried calling some of the hospitals, there was no answer or we were put on hold indefinitely despite us saying that we would like to make enquiries about Influenza A.

The ‘scare tactics’ in the media by the Health Ministry does not seem to be supported by actions the in hospitals. While some staff work tirelessly at the airports and entry points to Malaysia, their peers at the hospitals are not reciprocating their effort.

We hope the ministry has strategies to reach out to the majority of the public and will not only depend on people to visit its website.

It must actively seek out members of the public to provide important information about the this flu pandemic and the also information on others threats such as dengue, chikungunya and the hand, foot and mouth Disease.

We have an impression that perhaps healthcare personnel are not trained to respond to outbreaks of diseases (epidemic or pandemic) considering that these threats keep recurring especially with increased trans-boundary movement of humans and climate change which are causing disease agents and vectors to respond/behave differently.

We hope that the Health Ministry will diligently address the shortcomings at hospitals in handling/managing/responding to outbreaks.

The system should be designed to efficiently and effectively to deal with these situations. Easier said than done, yes, but it is required in managing public health.

The writer is president, Malaysian Association of Standards Users.