KUANTAN: A one-year-old girl in Temerloh died late last month after testing positive for Influenza A, also known as H1N1.
The victim was warded together with her twin sister at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital (Hoshah) Intensive Care Unit last month.
Her sister is fighting for her life.
Pahang Health Department director Datuk Dr Bahari Awang Ngah confirmed this with the New Straits Times today.
He said the death was linked to the influenza spread across the country.
News of the death was first reported on Jan 1, but it could not be verified by the authorities until now.
A source told the NST that State Health Department investigators have been tracking it for a year, but are still unable to identify the point of transmission.
“Our investigations showed that the sisters had only been to two places — their nursery and a supermarket.
“Nobody else at the nursery has tested positive for H1N1.
“Our preliminary conclusion is that the victims could have picked it outside, maybe from the foreign workers at the supermarket,” the source said.
The Health Department said things were still under control in Pahang and that the death in Temerloh was considered an isolated case.
Anybody who displays symptoms of fever, coughs and a cold for more than three to four days is advised to seek immediate medical attention and will be treated for influenza as a precautionary measure.
A doctor from the hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity said influenza tests were only given to those who did not respond to normal symptomatic treatment.
Priority treatment, he said, would be given to high-risk patients and children.
He said patients who tested positive for any influenza variants usually came from private clinics, .
“Influenza-related cases are on the rise, but we can’t say it is an outbreak yet,” he said.