We Are Not Hiding Anything Say Brunei Health Ministry
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Health is not hiding any Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) cases, which, should the outbreak occur, will be made known to the public immediately.

This was revealed at a press conference yesterday by Hj Azahari, Secretary of the Task Force and Dr. Hjh Rahmah, Acting Director of the Department of Health Services/Head, Disease Control Division, shooting rumours on the contrary.

Asked on the plan of action implemented in Brunei, should the outbreak of SARS happen, Dr. Hjh Rahmah said we have the facilities in readiness since the case was made known to us.

"These include the machines and the medicines. We have a task force set-up at the Ministry of Health. It covers contingency plan and surveillance.

"In the case of contingency plan, it covers the management of ill cases upon arrival from inbound flight at the airport. Also there are management of cases in hospital, management of cases seen at health care facilities as well as clinics, and assessment and stock piling of medical requirement, should the outbreak happen in Brunei.

"We also formulated guidelines that cover case isolation, clinical management, infection controls in hospitals and health clinics.

"With regards to surveillance on SARS, we have several levels of surveillance within our framework which covers surveillance at the airport, surveillance that include general practitioners, surveillance at the accident and emergency departments at all hospitals and at the isolation facilities.

"The key strategy that we adopt is in line with recommendation by the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is maintaining close vigilance for cases, identifying symptoms and isolating them."

Dr Hjh Rahman was asked on the report in the Bulletin yesterday where a fourth person succumbed to a killer pneumonia attack in Singapore after visiting a local hospital and travelling to Malaysia.

She said based on the report issued by the Ministry of Health of Singapore, the patient had traveled to Sarawak.

However, prior to that travel, there's also a history of her visiting what was initially a non-SARS patient at Tan Tock Seng hospital in Singapore who subsequently developed SARS. So it is more the contact with this case, rather than her travel in Sarawak. So that is the link, she said.

Asked on the SARS incubation period, and its relation to the case stated above, Dr. Hjh Rahmah said "the incubation period of SARS in majority of cases as shared with us by the WHO, symptoms can appear in two to seven days. However, it can extend up to 10 days. However for the purpose of our surveillance, we are adopting a much longer period of up to two weeks, to be more on the cautious side.

"As reported by WHO, the most high risk period with regards to transmission is when the patient displayed the symptoms in the Singapore case. She showed the symptoms on March 21, which was upon her return from Sarawak.

Asked about some travelers who received injections at the airport, Dr. Hjh Rahmah said the causative agent of this infection is yet not fully determined.

They have grown through different family of viruses from specimen of cases in the various levels within the global network. However the exact causative agent is not yet determined. Therefore the possibility of the vaccines being developed is not going to be there until the cause is identified. We are not quite sure what sort of injections is being given. (Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin)

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