BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE Ministry of Health (MoH) has administered the Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine to members of the public in Mukim Belait and Mukim Sungai Liang, it was revealed yesterday.

During a dialogue session with Legislative Council (LegCo) members, the Minister of Health said after the outbreak of 15 JE cases in the country in November, the ministry decided to administer the vaccine to the most affected clusters in the Belait district.

JE is a potentially fatal mosquito-borne disease which causes fever, headache and nausea; as well as convulsions and neurological symptoms in more serious cases.

Yang Berhormat Pehin Orang Kaya Johan Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Hj Adanan Begawan Pehin Siraja Khatib Dato Seri Setia Hj Mohd Yusof said environmental sanitation was still the most effective method to control JE.

He urged the public to clean out drains and other areas of stagnant water that are a haven for mosquito-breeding.

JE is caused by a virus which lives in certain animals such as pigs, horses and wild birds. The virus is transmitted to humans through mosquito bites.

With the tenth session of the Legislative Council coming up next month, LegCo members raised several issues for discussion with officials from the ministry.

Among them was the construction of several new medical facilities in the past year.

YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan said in 2013 construction was completed on two assisted living facilities for mental health patients and the Temburong Dialysis Centre, among others.

He added that work on the new Women and Children’s Block at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital would be completed within the year.

Health Minister YB Pehin Dato Hj Adanan also mentioned several medical milestones achieved in 2013, such as the first locally-performed kidney transplant, and the introduction of new medical techniques such as Renal Artery Denervation to treat chronic high blood pressure.

Bone-achored hearing aids that tap directly into the inner ear will also be introduced in 2014, he added.

Officials also discussed the implementation of the Brunei Darussalam Healthcare Information and Management System (BRU-HIMS), an electronic patient database that was created in 2012 and is now being used in all government health care centres.

The Brunei Times