Source of East Coast cholera outbreak suspected to be from Thailand

2009/11/26

KIMANIS (Sabah): Cholera outbreaks in Terengganu and Kelantan were believed to have been spread from Thailand because cases reported in Sabah only showed ordinary cholera symptoms, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said today. "We found out only yesterday that the unusual form of cholera was spread from Thailand where similar types of the disease were reported.

"Patients in Terengganu and Kelantan were not reacting to ordinary antibiotics for cholera unlike patients who responded to similar treatment in Sabah," she told reporters at a ground breaking ceremony for Kimanis Power Plant here today.

Rosnah also denied that the cholera outbreak in the two northern states were related to the current floods.

"We noticed there were flooding in other states in the country but there were no reports of cholera. It is only Terengganu and Kelantan that have these unusual cases because the two states border Thailand," she added.

Rosnah said that to date, Terengganu reported 185 cases while Kelantan reported 14 cases. - BERNAMA