55 typhoid cases recorded in KL, Selangor

Typhoid cases have increased to 55 in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor as of Wednesday.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said three people were still being treated at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

"To date, the patients are in stable condition and no deaths have been reported.

"Of the 55 typhoid cases recorded around the Klang Valley since August 2015, 37 are in Kuala Lumpur and 18 are in Selangor," he said in a statement today.

He said the latest three cases reported on Oct 25 were in Selangor. No new cases have been reported since then.

With the increase of typhoid cases, as many as 435 eateries have been inspected with 80 of them being ordered to shut down due to cleanliness issues.

"A total of 27 compound notices have been issued to the owners of these eateries with 25 of them compounded under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009 and the other two under the Local Government Act 1976.

"As many as 2,229 food handlers have been inspected and from this, 365 (16.4 percent) do not have legal typhoid immunisation status.

"To date, however, no food operators have been confirmed as being carriers of the (salmonella typhi) bacteria," said Dr Noor Hisham.

Earlier, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam had revealed that over 30 percent of foreign workers have not been vaccinated for typhoid fever.

Dr Subramaniam urged food operators to be more responsible and warned that stern action would be taken against them if this matter was not taken seriously.

Meanwhile, Dr Noor Hisham also advised the public to only dine at clean eateries and to prioritise cooked food.

"Food operators and handlers are reminded that it is their responsibility to always ensure that their premises are kept clean," he stressed.

He added that pamphlets in connection to typhoid and health education for individuals and in groups have been increased at premises which have been checked.

Information regarding typhoid and preventive measures can be obtained from myHealth.gov.my and www.infosihat.gov.my.