PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry has cautioned Malaysians that have travel plans to West Africa to take necessary preventive measures against the deadly Ebola virus.
Its director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Ebola virus disease (EVD) was very dangerous to humans with a very high fatality rate.
He said although the World Health Organisation (WHO) has not issued any travel advisory, precaution and preventive measures should be taken seriously, and not lightly.
Dr Noor Hisham said among the necessary precaution measures are to constantly wash one's hands with soap and use sanitiser aside from avoiding contact from objects that could have been contaminated with bodily fluids.
The outbreak in West Africa is believed to be one of the worst outbreak in history and has claimed hundreds of lives. The symptoms of EVD include fever, headaches, weakness and vomiting, and at an advanced stage there is internal and external bleeding.