Swine flu may be as bad as 1918 flu

A public health expert has warned that the swine flu could be as big a killer as the 1918 Spanish flu which left 40 million people dead, if it was not properly contained.

University Sains Malaysia Public Health professor Dr Chan Chee Khoon said some people think it would not be serious but if the virus replicates the characteristics of the Spanish flu, many could be infected or die. Dr Chan said the swine flu epidemic was harder to control than the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) but not as deadly.

"The flu virus becomes infectious even before symptoms are seen and this makes it difficult for health authorities to contain the disease," he told 'The Star' daily. Meanwhile, a government official said 150 people were infected with the chikungunya epidemic in coastal areas of Sri Aman and Betong. He said there were no deaths due to the disease and the epidemic had been contained. State Health director Dr Mohd Kamil Hassan said Sarawak migrant workers who had worked in chikungunya infected states in the peninsula could have carried the virus back, adding there were thousands of Sarawakians working in Johor. On swine flu, Dr Chan said the state had banned the import of live pigs and fresh pork products to curb the possible spread of the flu.