GEORGE TOWN, Sept 24 — Influenza infections in Penang are still under control and have not shown any significant increase, says State Youth, Sports and Health Committee chairman Daniel Gooi Zi Sen.
He said the latest analysis of the clinical-based Influenza-like Illness (ILI) surveillance trend for the period from Epidemiological Week (EW) 32 to EW37 this year recorded a rate of between 9.5 and 10.5 per cent.
“For the laboratory-based ILI surveillance, the positive rate recorded a slight increase of between 26.7 and 28.9 per cent, with Influenza A being the dominant strain.
“However, this positive rate was still lower compared to the same period in 2024, which was between 35.6 and 51.1 per cent,” he said in a statement today.
According to Gooi, the number of reported respiratory infection clusters this year was also lower, with a decline of 52.4 per cent compared to last year.
He said, although under control, the trend of rising cases towards the end of the year remained consistent as in previous years, thus advising the public to remain vigilant by practising preventive measures, especially when in enclosed and crowded areas.
He also recommended that senior citizens aged 60 and above with at least one comorbid disease obtains the influenza vaccine free of charge at government health facilities.
He said the state government took note of the latest reports from the Penang State Health Department (JKN) regarding influenza infection trends and continuously carried out close monitoring through surveillance at sentinel clinics throughout Penang.
“The state government through JKN would continue to monitor the development of respiratory infections domestically and abroad and step up preparedness from time to time,” he said. — Bernama
