I would like to say kudos to personnel at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital for taking good care of my two-year-old daughter, especially when she was infected with an unknown gastroenteritis “bug”.
For a week, this bug terrorised my family, infecting one after another. It started with my daughter, before my wife caught it, then myself, my in-laws and nephews.
We went to the Accident and Emergency Unit (A&E) thrice in a week, to find out what was going on with our daughter, who appeared very weak, with less to no appetite for food.
Before that, she was vomiting and excreting non-stop, along with high fever. We spent countless hours at the A&E getting her through the IV drip treatments. Doctors who attended to her did not specify what the cause was, except that it was a diarrhoea-like illness.
After our third visit, as her condition worsened, she was officially admitted to the Women and Children Centre. At the ward, visitors are restricted to only one parent per child. On a personal level, being away from my daughter and wife for days was not easy.
While I highly appreciate all the efforts from the medical team in dealing with this surge in “bug” cases among children, I wonder why the outbreak has not been reported on the health authority’s social media platforms or any media outlets, for that matter.
From what I’ve gathered from other parents, this bug has been making the rounds in schools, keeping children ill for a week or more. It seems like a serious case of an outbreak, and I believe the public need to be alerted, regarding its danger and steps to take in dealing with it.
I understand that it could cause public panic, especially those with children. But I believe it would also ease the mind of parents if there is more information available, such as how to prepare themselves if one member of the family is infected.
An official source is better than assumptions and having the public make a conclusion through “Dr Google”.
Concerned Dad
