The government is on full alert to prevent the possibility of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) outbreak recurring in the country, said Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek today.

He said the government has taken appropriate pre-emptive steps while health and medical officials have been placed on full alert to face any eventuality.

"We're closely monitoring developments in Beijing. We're on full alert," he was quoted in a Bernama report.

The minister was speaking to reporters before attending the First Bilateral Malaysia and China Meeting on Health Issues in Kuala Lumpur.

Chua said Malaysia stepped up surveillance after suspected Sars cases were detected in Beijing last Thursday.

So far, six cases have been reported in China and of these, two have been confirmed - one each in Beijing and Anhui.

The patient from Anhui had since died after being treated for 11 days from April 8.

Last year, the deadly disease claimed 800 lives worldwide with China being the worst hit.

Health alert cards

Meanwhile, Chua said Malaysia has made it mandatory for airline passengers from China, especially from Beijing, to fill up health alert cards.

He said the cards would be distributed in the aircraft to enable passengers to fill up to avoid wasting time during screening.

"We've also instructed them to pass through thermal scanners at airports to check their body temperature," he added.

The minister said 1,986 passengers from Hong Kong and China were screened last Friday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport but none of them were detected with symptoms of Sars.

Chua said his ministry would issue daily reports on latest developments of the epidemic to all hospitals, particularly the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Institute of Medical Research to keep them updated.

He said 21 hospitals have been identified as dedicated hospitals to treat Sars patients.

He added the ministry has also opened a mini Sars operations room on Friday with a hotline number 03-26989436.

"We've also asked state health departments to instruct doctors to convey information on Sars to the department or the ministry," he said.

Effective strategies

In his speech later, Chua said the meeting would discuss cooperation in areas such as traditional and complementary medicines, global information hub for integrated medicine, prevention and control of infectious diseases, research and development.

"These are areas of great potential for collaboration between us that will yield benefits to both countries economically and socially," he said.

He said Malaysia was actively looking into developing traditional and complementary medicines and the possibility of integrating them with mainstream medicines.

"We, therefore, are looking forward to work closely with China, which I understand, has already put in place a good system of traditional and complementary medicines, such as the practice of acupuncture, production of medicines from plant origins, training and research in traditional and complementary medicines," he said.

Chua said public health threats such as Sars had clearly demonstrated the potentially serious fallouts infectious diseases outbreak would have on the economic and social well-being of a country.

"Hence, it's timely and pertinent for us to discuss and collaborate on effective strategies to prevent and control such diseases," he added.