Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said there was a fatality as a result.
Of 11 cases treated due to heat exhaustion, five were at the Banting Hospital, two at the Langkawi Hospital and one each at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Port Dickson Hospital and the Putrajaya Hospital, he said.
He said two heatstroke patients were still being treated at the Banting Hospital while in the case at the Segamat Hospital, the patient died.
“Yesterday, a male trainee policeman at the Segamat Police Training Centre (Pulapol) became the first victim to die of heatstroke, which caused his body cells to stop functioning,” he told a press conference here today.
Dr Subramaniam said the victim was reported admitted at the hospital after fainting during his training held at an indoor field track.
Yesterday, Azizan Ayob, 23, who was one of the 467 trainee policemen, who had reported at the training centre on March 13, died at 10.26pm at the Segamat Hospital.
Dr Subramaniam said according to hospital’s report, the victim succumbed to the illness due to dehydration (decreased water intake), which eventually led the blood to become concentrated and tissues were not getting enough oxygen.
“This situation triggered metabolic acidosis (a condition marked by an excessive production of body acids or impairments in normal acid removal) which led to failure of various organs despite the hospital providing mechanical ventilation,” he explained.
Dr Subramaniam advised the public to drink an adequate amount of water, limit strenuous outdoor activities, wear lighter clothing and stay in a place with sufficient ventilation.
To a question, Dr Subramaniam said he had suggested to the government agencies, such as police, the army and Sports and Youth Ministry to reduce activities, including marathons and intense physical exercises during this extreme hot weather.
The hot weather will not affect the National Service Training Programme (PLKN) 2.0 series, which is scheduled to start on March 26.
National Service Training Department (JLKN) Mohmed Asri Yusuf said the training programmes, including outdoor activities, will be conducted as usual, although adjustments would be made due the hot weather.
“We will adjust the training to suit to the current weather. If the marching practice is at 2pm, but it is not suitable (due to the hot weather), then we will not have it at that time.
“We will have the practice in the morning, and adjust other activities according to the weather,” he told Bernama.
Malaysian Zoological Society deputy director-general Rahmat Ahmad Lana said Zoo Negara was taking extra measures to ensure animals under its care stay hydrated and healthy.
Steps taken includeincreasing bathing times for animals, clean and cool the animals dens more
often as well as ensure the animals have adequate water to drink and cool off, at all times during the hot spell, he said.
The extreme hot weather also affected the 27 elephants at the Kuala Gandah National Elephant Conservation Centre, near Temerloh, which now need more regular baths.
Head of the elephant unit, Nasaruddin Othman, said since the hot weather began last month, the
elephants have had to be bathed 10 times a day compared to four or five times before this.
“Luckily we use water from a nearby waterfall to bathe them and provide them with drinking water. Otherwise, the water bill will definitely increase drastically,” he told Bernama here today.
– BERNAMA