Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai today dispelled any fears of a potential outbreak of influenza A(H1N1) in the country despite seven confirmed cases.

"No we are not facing an outbreak here. So far we still have seven confirmed cases, all imported cases.," he said.

bn penang koh tsu koon liow tiong lai 100808 03 The minister added that of the seven, five were on the road to full recovery following treatment and are in stable condition.

"Two of them (German tourists) will be discharged today and one from Seremban has been discharged," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the ministry was acting within the laws to quarantine anyone suspected of having the influenza, in response to a reported case where a Canadian escaped from Hospital Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“So far only one foreigner has escaped and the police have taken action against him,” he said.

“Don’t worry, the Health Ministry is in control and the situation is under control. We are still strengthening our border screening and are on high alert so that there is no local transmission,” he added.

According to the minister, a total of 179 people have been placed under quarantine since the first case on May 15 involving a Malaysian student who returned home from the United States.

“But they (the 179 patients) are symptomless. Luckily, there are no local transmissions and 74 of them will be discharged today after completing their quarantine,” he said.

So far, 239 people from 73 countries have died following the flu outbreak.

Screening system still 'sufficient'

Liow also said that the country has ‘sufficient’ technology for preventive measures.

He was responding to China’s systematic technology in their airports to detect suspected patients even before they board a flight.

swine flu pandemic thermal scanner image 150509 Liow said a highly-sensitive and efficient mass scanner was enough to scan everyone and pick out those whose temperatures are above a certain level.

“We can detect them and take action immediately. We also take forms filled up by flight passengers so we can trace them if we find somebody in that plane having fever or suspected with H1N1,” he added,

He said the ministry will take additional steps if the World Health Organisation raises the alert level from five to six.

“(Should the level be raised) the health director-general is discussing the possibility where we might check passengers in the plane itself... at this point, it (the measures employed) is sufficient,” he added.

Liow also does not rule out the possibility of putting up a mass scanner at the Johor-Singapore border if the neighbouring country experiences local transmission.

“We are monitoring Singapore very closely but so long as the country has imported cases rather than local transmission, we won’t do the screening,” he said.