Status of boy suspected of contracting rabies to be known soon

Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said so far the boy from Sarawak had symptoms of the disease but it had yet to be confirmed.

"We are awaiting the results, which will take some time to be confirmed," he said at a media conference after opening the Vista Eye Specialist Clinic at All Season Place, here today.

Yesterday Melaka State Health director Datuk Dr Ghazali Othman said the boy was believed to have been bitten by a rabid dog in Serian, Sarawak recently.

The father of the victim is a solider based in Melaka and further investigation was being carried out, he said.

Asked if the family members of the boy concerned were required to be quarantined, Dr Hilmi said it was not necessary as they were not bitten by rabid dogs.

On July 4, the first and second rabies victims, who were siblings, Monica and Jackson Mazlan, aged six and four, from Kampung Paon, Sungai Rimu Bakung, Serian Sarawak died at the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH)'s children intensive care unit after being diagnosed with the virus last month.

Earlier Dr Hilmi, in his speech, said according to the Second National Eye Survey in 2014, about 413,000 Malaysians over 50 years of age were visually impaired because of cataracts.

He said the same national eye survey also estimated about 1.3 million people would have visually impairment caused by cataracts in the next five to 10 years, while another 43,000 will go blind.

"In view of Malaysia's ageing population, experts are expecting that more and more people will be affected by cataracts in the next few years," he added.