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TB is <b>Sabah&#39;s</b> highest contracted communicable disease - Borneo Post Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

TB is <b>Sabah&#39;s</b> highest contracted communicable disease - Borneo Post

Posted: 16 Mar 2014 02:49 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: A total of 4,515 cases of tuberculosis (TB) were recorded in Sabah in 2013, which on record is the highest contracted disease compared to other communicable diseases.

State Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi disclosed this yesterday  in her speech delivered by her deputy, Dr Richard Avoi, during the launch of Sabah Anti-Tuberculosis Association's (SABATA) 60th Anniversary Seminar entitled "To Improve Detection, Treatment and Curing Tuberculosis."

According to Dr Rundi, the number recorded for the disease is the highest compared to other communicable diseases such as malaria and dengue.

"TB is on the rise and is a serious problem in Sabah and it is still a challenge to keep the disease under wraps, especially with cases that are diagnosed too late," she said.

She added that possible contributing factors to the delayed diagnosis of TB are due to the patients themselves, who are unaware of early symptoms, or the healthcare delivery system.

"It is also believed that there are still many more undetected cases of TB (in the State), as the search for TB cases is still low," Dr Rundi said.

Another challenge, she said, is to deal with the refusal of treatment, especially from the immigrant community, which has contributed to the rise of drug-resistant TB cases.

Therefore, she urged for cooperation between non-governmental organizations and the Health Department to help in controlling TB, especially through awareness programs.

Meanwhile, head of the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Sector, Dr Jiloris F Dony of the Health Ministry, said that Malaysia ranks seventh on the list of TB-burden countries within the 37 countries listed on the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Region.

"TB is the second most common communicable disease in Malaysia, after dengue and is the leading cause of mortality among all communicable diseases," Jiloris said.

He also said that ensuring quality screening and clinical management of TB cases, providing adequate infection control measures in healthcare facilities and early case findings are, amongst others, efforts to control the spread of TB.

About 230 participants attended the public seminar, organized together with the Malaysian Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis (MAPTB), which was held in conjunction with the World Tuberculosis Day that falls on March 24.

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Private sector jobs in <b>Sabah</b> go abegging - Borneo Post

Posted: 05 Mar 2014 10:45 AM PST

by Rebecca Chong. Posted on March 6, 2014, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: Students in their final semester at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sabah were introduced to job opportunities in Sabah through the Career and Industrial Relations Expo 2014 (CAIREX).

The CAIREX programme, organised for the second time by UiTM in collaboration with JobsMalaysia at the UiTM campus yesterday, was officiated by Human Resource Development Department director Billy Yumbod who represented Resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Siringan Gubat.

With the main objective to expose post-graduate students to career options in the state, the CAIREX also aims to provide a platform to widen opportunities related to the courses taken.

According to UiTM Sabah rector Datuk Dr Haji Abdul Kadir Rosline, the CAIREX this year was bigger and better than the one held last year.

He said CAIREX this year involved more participants from the private and public companies in the state tnat that last year, with 20 booths set up by different companies.

"I hope this programme will become bigger each year and involve more visitors from the public as it is very beneficial, especially to the fresh graduates," he said.

Abdul Kadir told the Borneo Post that this year marked the 40th anniversary of UiTM Sabah, and plans were afoot for UiTM Sabah to have its first convocation ceremony in November, and to be combined with the Job Expo.

Since the early years of UiTM Sabah, its graduates have been conducting their convocation ceremony in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur, thus making the convocation planned for this November the first UiTM Sabah convocation ceremony ever to be held in the state.

"I believe that this will help make the Job Expo even bigger as the convocation will be attended not only by the graduates, but with their family members as well.

"With plans to set up 100 booths, the Job Expo will have a perfect time as most of the fresh graduates will be looking for job opportunities," he said.

Meanwhile, Siringan said in his speech which was delivered by Billy that based on statistics from the Public Services Commission, 100,824 people from Sabah had registered for positions in the public service sector in 2013, and out of the total, 5,000 had been appointed.

He also revealed that from the information acquired from JobsMalaysia, there were about 130,000 vacancies in the private sector last year, but only 1,800 positions were filled.

"This number shows that there is a very stiff competition in getting a job in the public sector. On the other hand, there are still a lot of vacancies in the private sector which also give opportunities for graduates to work nearer to their home towns," he said.

He also said graduates should have the mindset that it was beneficial to get a job as the experience gained from work could improve their soft skills and at the same time expand their social network.

"We do not have to be too choosy when it comes to finding a job as there are a lot of opportunities available if we think positively and improve ourselves when we are working," he added.

Leduinah Lairis, 24, a student from the Diploma in Business Management course at UiTM Sabah, said CAIREX created an opportunity for her to be exposed to private companies which offered jobs related to her course of study.

"I am very happy that this expo is held here as it is very convenient for me," she said, adding that it was the first job expo she had attended.

"From this program, I have discovered a few companies that I was not familiar with. Getting to know the companies through the booths set up here exposes me to the possibilities of working with one of them," she added.

Dayangku Siti Zulaiha, 22, who is in her final semester for the Diploma in Accounting course, said the expo would help her to decide whether to continue studying to a degree level or not.

"I hope this expo will give me some idea on what jobs are available for diploma and degree graduates," she said.

However, a student in the Diploma in Banking course from Tawau, Mohd Azlan Sah Zulkifli, 22, thought that CAIREX offered too little options.

"I think they should get more companies to set up booths for this program as there are a limited number of vacancies in each company," he said.

During the event, Abdul Kadir announced that there would be an UiTM Sabah 40th Anniversary Peak Dinner Event on March 29 and all alumni of UiTM Sabah are invited to attend the event which would also be attended by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman.

Entrance fees will be donated to the Mengubah Destini Anak Bangsa fund.

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<b>Sabah</b> dengue cases up 46.8% - Borneo Post

Posted: 01 Mar 2014 09:33 AM PST

KOTA KINABALU: Dengue awareness campaigns have been largely effective due the failure of the public to change their attitude to ensure their surroundings are clean.

And it is their ignorance that contributed to the increasing number of dengue cases in the state, said Sabah Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi.

"It only takes you just 10 minutes per week to do some cleaning up around your house and lawn to get rid of the mosquitoes breeding ground. Just make sure that there is no still water as it is the best place for mosquitoes to breed," she said.

Rundi disclosed that this year alone, as of Feb 27, a total of 251 dengue cases were reported in Sabah, recording an increase of 46.8 per cent compared to 171 cases in the same period of last year.

During the same period, the state capital tops the list with the highest number of 55 cases, followed by Tawau (51) and Tuaran (29).

Meanwhile, during the same period, 12 out of 25 districts in Sabah showed a significant increase in dengue cases including Tenom with 350 per cent, Tuaran (314.3 per cent) and Tawau (131.8 per cent).

Rundi added that the department, with the collaboration of other relevant authorities, would continue to work closely to eradicate dengue through awareness campaigns.

"I hope that it would bring positive changes to the people's way of thinking." she told reporters this after the 'Jom Hapus' programme to clean up aedes mosquitoes breeding areas at Taman Sempelang in Sembulan, yesterday.

The event was jointly organised by the department and Kota Kinabalu City Hall.

Earlier in her speech, Rundi said at least 20 to 30 dengue cases were reported weekly in Sabah, while the whole nation reported a total of 500 cases daily, and between 2,000 and 2,500 cases recorded weekly.

She added that at least 43 compounds amounting to RM20,700 were issued to premises owners under the Destruction of Disease-Bearing Insects Act 1975 after aedes larvaes were found within their compound.

Between January and Feb 27, a total of 338 notices were issued for similar cases.

She said that the Health Ministry's operations room nationwide is open round-the-clock to monitor dengue cases in all states.

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