Increasing number of patients down with cough, fever

SHAH ALAM - The number of patients who sought treatment at private clinics for cough and fever has been increasing following the current scorching hot and hazy weather.

However, Dr. Mohd Hafiezulniezam Mohd Hasdin, a private clinic owner, said that the actual cause of the symptoms could not be determined.

"For the past few days, some patients had come claiming they had sore throat which makes it difficult for them to swallow food and drink, but I'm not sure the actual cause for it.

"As of Monday, there are a total of seven patients who suffered from sore throat and esophageal pain as well as fever," he said.

On April 17, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu ordered all officials in the ministry's department to gear up and constantly monitor the hot spell that was expected to affect the country’s agriculture sector.

The situation worsened as three states were cloaked by haze, with each state recording unhealthy air quality levels on Sunday.

Dr Hafiezulniezam added that despite the Air Pollutant Index (API), the cause of the symptoms could not be determined in detail.

"However, he did not rule out the possibility that the hot weather may have been one of the contributing factors."

"The weather at 33 to 34 degree Celsius temperature may be one of the factors causing patients to experience fever, sore throat and cough due to lack of water in their body while fasting," he said.

Meanwhile in Kelantan, a nutritionist Alya Amirah Ruziman, 25, said the hot weather did affect both children and the elderly.

She said the number of customers who came to buy medicine for sore throat and tonsils had increased.

"During the hot weather and month of Ramadan, customers had complained about cough and sore throat. They are advised to drink lots of water, eat gravy meals, and yogurt," she said.