Post – mortem can’t confirm Orang Asli deaths

PORT DICKSON: The results of post-mortems on the skeletal remnants of 12 Orang Asli in Kampung Kuala Koh, Kelantan cannot confirm the cause of deaths.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said that the post-mortems were conducted on the 12 remnants on June 17 and 18.
‘‘We have also not received the results of the toxicology, heavy metal and entomology tests,” he told a media conference after a Port Dickson Parliamentary Level My Healthy Village programme here today.
He said that the number of deaths, which were confirmed by laboratory tests as due to measles, remained at three cases, and there were also no new death cases as of yesterday.
‘‘Post-mortems by the forensic team also confirmed that the deaths in the three cases were due to measles infections and complications,’’ he said.
Federation of Private Medical Practitioners Associations, Malaysia, (FPMPAM) president and founding chairman of Drs For All, Dr Steven KW Chow had revealed that the manganese poisoning level in the water was 2500% higher than the allowed level three days ago.
“The manganese poisoning level is 2,500% more than the threshold. It is toxic water. Drink it and you will surely die,” he said at a press conference.
The threshold for iron is 0.3mg per litre and for manganese is 0.1mg per litre. The water sample tested revealed that manganese level is at 2.53 mg per litre.
He also had called for the post – mortem reports to be revealed as he found clusters of Orang Asli family members dying.
He also rubbished claims that deaths were caused by measles.
Dzulkefly said that 48 cases were still being treated, namely, 46 in the isolation wards and two in the Intensive Care Unit as of July 5.
He said that all those being treated were stable while 53 mild cases were housed at the National Service Training Programme (PLKN) Camp at the Ethnobotany Park, Gua Musang.
Meanwhile, he said that in Terengganu, five cases were still being treated at the isolation ward of the Hulu Terengganu Hospital while there was no new case in Pahang and the epidemic was under control.
Since the epidemic was reported on June 3 until July 5, the cumulative cases reported were 173 cases, namely, 147 cases in Kelantan including three deaths, Terengganu (18 cases) and Pahang (eight cases).
Of the total number, 82 cases were confirmed through laboratory tests to be measles.