MIRI: The Health Department has dismissed as baseless claims that Berawan folk in Long Terawan had been infected with malaria, with six having to be admitted to Miri Hospital.
The department said there were no malaria patients from Long Terawan admitted to Miri Hospital or Marudi Hospital during the period reported by an English language tabloid on June 15.
In the report, the newspaper quoted Berawan Association secretary Willie Kajan as saying that 10 Berawans from the longhouse were suffering from malaria, with six admitted to Miri Hospital the previous week.
A divisional health office team carried out an investigation at Long Terawan between June 18 and 22, which included interviewing association president Charles Baya and longhouse folk there.
“Our investigation showed that there were no villagers who had malaria fever, none being hospitalised for the said disease, and this was confirmed by the association president himself,” said the department in a statement issued through the Information Department here.
Among the preventive measures taken were malaria screening with the collection of blood slide samples from 87 persons, distribution of 200 mosquito nets, as well as spraying farm huts along Sungai Tutoh between Long Terawan and Kuala Sungai Melinau.
Health talks and individual sessions on malaria were also organised for villagers.
The statement added that the Miri Division Health Office is continuously on the lookout for contagious diseases in the division and would undertake appropriate action.
Expressing disappointment with the report, the department called on the media to be more professional and ensure that information reported was accurate and from reliable sources.
“Broadcasting of information on contagious diseases without verification from the Miri Health Office could give rise to confusion and cause panic in society,” added the statement.