KUALA KANGSAR: The Perak Health Department confirmed an Influenza Like-Illness cluster at Sekolah Tuanku Abdul Rahman in Ipoh involving three cases up to Tuesday.
State Health, Environment, Science and Green Technology Committee chairman Mohd Akmal Kamarudin said this was based on the results of a nasopharyngeal swab smear test, which found that three of five samples tested positive for Influenza A H3 on June 21.
He said the cluster was first detected when the Kinta District Health Office received information from the hostel warden that some students had cough symptoms up to noon on June 19.
Akmal said an investigation found that 25 of the 220 exposed students had cough symptoms, 11 had sore throats, seven had the flu and four had headache.
"They received treatment at the Ampang Community Clinic, Ipoh. No student was admitted to hospital.
"The Covid-19 Antigen Rapid Test Kit test for 25 students with cough symptoms on June 19 was negative."
Akmal's statement was issued by the Perak Health Department's National Crisis Preparedness and Rapid Response Centre.
The statement was issued at the state-level Tobacco Free Day celebration at the Perak Jubilee Hall here today.
He said students with symptoms were placed in an isolation room at the school dormitory and were monitored for 10 days, while the daily screening of students was done by the school and referred for examination and treatment at the clinic.
He urged people to continue to maintain the standard operating procedures during the transition to endemic phase, such as wearing face masks in closed public places or in buildings, washing hands or using hand sanitiser, and ensuring ventilation.
Meanwhile, he said there was an increase in the cumulative number of dengue fever cases in Perak this year.
Up to the 24th epidemiological week, there were 434 cases compared with 300 cases for the same epidemiological week last year.
He said despite an increase in dengue cases, there were no deaths compared with one fatality in the same period last year.
As for chikungunya cases, he said cumulatively, up to the 24th epidemiological week, there were eight cases compared with 157 cases for the same period last year, a drop of 94.9 per cent.