KUALA LUMPUR:Studies show that 15 per cent of Malaysians suffer from chronic kidney disease at various levels, says Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.<br /> <br /> He said the most worrying factor was that most of the patients were unaware that they had the disease.<br /> <br /> "This is because these patients do not have any symptoms at the early stage, and when a patient begins showing symptoms, often they are already at a more serious level," he said when officiating the website ‘www.mybuahpinggang.com’ in an online event here, today.<br /> <br /> However, he did not reveal further details about the study.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, he hoped that with the launch of the website and the ‘MYbuahpinggang’ Facebook page, public awareness about the disease would improve, and subsequently reduce the incidence of kidney failure in the country.<br /> <br /> Dr Noor Hisham also congratulated the physicians, doctors, patients and all those involved in the setting up of the website.<br /> <br /> "I welcome the noble efforts of the Malaysian Medical Tweet Association to develop a special website on kidney health, namely ‘www.mybuahpinggang.com’ in collaboration with the Ministry of Health's Nephrology Service, Malaysian Society of Nephrology, National Kidney Foundation and Astra Zeneca.<br /> <br /> "This website will be a one-stop centre for the public and patients to obtain information related to the kidneys. I also understand that it will be expanded in the near future to cover various other aspects such as pre-dialysis education and diabetes education," he said.<br /> <br /> He also stressed that although the ministry was currently busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, treatment of other patients suffering from various diseases was still a priority of the Ministry of Health.<br /> <br /> -- BERNAMA