ANDREW SAGAYAM - the malay mail
KUALA LUMPUR: The police training centre in Jalan Semarak have been placed under red alert after a "adenovirus" infection claimed the life of a 21-year-old trainee police constable.
Nearly 3,000 police personnel have been quarantined at the training centre after the trainee constable from Kuala Kangsar died at 10am this morning at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital after being warded for a week.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, said 30 more trainee policemen are now placed in isolation wards with two of them currently warded in the hospital's Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
He said the police are working closely with the Health Ministry in combating the crisis.
"We are checking to find out the cause and source of the outbreak. I want to assure everyone, especially the families of the trainees, that we are taking all necessary measures to control the situation," the IGP told newsmen at the Federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman this afternoon.
According to Wikipedia, "Adenovirus infections most commonly cause illness of the respiratory system; however, depending on the infecting serotype, they may also cause various other illnesses, such as gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, cystitis, and rash illness. Symptoms of respiratory illness caused by adenovirus infection range from the common cold syndrome to pneumonia, croup, and bronchitis.
"Patients with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible to severe complications of adenovirus infection. Acute respiratory disease (ARD), first recognized among military recruits during World War II, can be caused by adenovirus infections during conditions of crowding and stress."
Meanwhile, Ismail said family members of the trainees can contact the Special Operation Room at 03-2688 2009 for further inquiries and clearance to visit the trainees.
He added all operations at the training centre, including the trainings, have been stopped until further notice.
"Operations will resume as normal once we get the clearance from the Health Ministry," he said.
Ismail added that all updates on the situation can be obtained from the police official website at www.rmp.gov.my or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PolisDirajaMalaysia.
Currently, there are 1,945 people undergoing basic police training course for the post of Inspector and Constable, with 854 trainers and staff with the training centre.
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