UPDATE: Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has reported that the disease killing over a dozen native people in Malaysia’s northeast, and sending scores more to the hospital, is measles. He is blaming low vaccination rates for the group’s poor immunity
Officials from the National Unity and Social Wellbeing Ministry have confirmed that the mysterious illness plaguing the native Bateq people in the eastern state of Kelantan has taken another life, bringing the death toll to 15.
Saya turun ke Kuala Koh, Gua Musang hari ini untuk melihat sendiri status masalah yang menimpa Orang Asli disini.
Penghargaan buat semua pihak terlibat yang berkerja keras untuk menangani masalah ini.
Baca kenyataan penuh di https://t.co/rC0eJb2aMB pic.twitter.com/lS5DC306uA
— Dr Wan Azizah Ismail (@drwanazizah) June 14, 2019
Nasri A/L Rosli, a three-year-old child, was the latest victim, with a postmortem scheduled for later today. Authorities from the Health Ministry are still trying to understand the exact nature of the illness that began affecting members of the Orang Asli community last month.
Initial fears that a nearby water source had been tainted by a manganese mine were proven to be false, with tests coming back negative for contaminants. Officials from the Department of Environment have gone on record to say that the water fits the national standards of a clean drinking source.
The Bateq settlement is approximately three kilometers from a mine.
While doctors are perplexed at what kind of deadly disease could be taking out so many native people, initial reports suggest a pulmonary illness akin to pneumonia, as all of the victims had complained of breathing problems before succumbing to the illness.