The Petaling district health department is tightlipped about the condition of four Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) students who are being treated at the Kajang Hopsital in Selangor after developing symptoms of meningitis.

When contacted today, health officer, Dr Rushidi Ramly, refused to comment on the matter.

He also refused to say anything about a meeting between health department officials and university medical officers on the disease which malaysiakini learnt was held yesterday.

Instead, he began criticising malaysiakini for reporting the matter.

Meanwhile, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) chief medical officer Dr Yahaya Abu Ahmad said a new directive from the department, revealed at the meeting, prohibits them from talking to the press regarding the disease.

"We cannot say anything, everything must be referred to Dr Rushidi

"The information of any development on the disease will be issued by the Health Ministry or the district health department," he said when contacted.

A Kajang Hospital official later told malaysiakini that two of the four students are still undergoing treatment.

However, the official said the students, Ong Eek Ling and Mohd Zamri Ramli, were not suffering from meningitis but from dengue and diarrhea respectively.

Two fatalities

News about the disease, which has been making headlines over the past few weeks, first emerged following the deaths of two UPM students last month within two days.

The students, Loy Cheah Kee and D Thiyagarajan, both 23, died after exhibiting symptoms of meningitis.

However, only Thiyagarajan was found to have died of meningitis. Loy died after suffering from the same symptoms but his body was released for burial before an autopsy testing for the disease could be conducted.

Last Friday, it was reported that Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) mass communication, student, Kasnita Mohd Kassim, died of meningoencephalitis or brain inflamation which is a meningitis variant.

Since the meningitis scare erupted, lack of information on the disease caused anxiety among students and parents.

Students also complained they do not receive any formal notice to alert them on the contagious disease and the precautionary steps they should take.

Meningococcal meningitis is a type of infectious disease which is airborne and caused by a bacteria called Neisseria meningitidis .

Those infected will experience fever, nausea, intense headache and stiffness of neck.

UiTM authorities could not be reached for comment.