Malaysiakini:
Shock and stigma as Sendayan cluster shakes quiet town
CORONAVIRUS | Al-Arqam, an Islamic religious sect, came under the spotlight in the 1990s after the then government declared it deviant and arrested its leaders, including founder Ashaari Mohammad, under the now-defunct Internal Security Act.
In late 2012, more than a hundred of supporters led by Ashaari's younger brother Hashim Muhammad set up a breakaway group, where they formed a close-knit community dubbed "Albab Family Trading" (AFT) in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan.
They have generally kept a low-profile but in recent weeks, suddenly found themselves once again under the national spotlight after a new Covid-19 cluster spread in the group.
Miqdam Bakhtiar, a member of that close-knit community, said none of them knew where the infection originated from.
The group of 60 families and 300 members have built up a chain of grocery stores, restaurants, clinics and became a household name in Sendayan.
Miqdam, who manages Qathrunnada, a nasyid band under the group, said it was only after one of their leaders passed away did they realise that the virus had infiltrated the close-knit community.
(Note: Malaysiakini is withholding the victim's name out of respect for his family's privacy)
"He had been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for quite a while. Besides these, he also had heart complications.
"So, we thought he was just not well as he had been like that for some time. And when he is okay, sometimes he would go out to visit AFT tahfiz students and join them for prayers.
"Otherwise, he would spend most of his time resting at home, especially during the movement control order (MCO)," said Miqdam.
The Sendayan cluster
The 54-year-old victim was taken to the Seremban hospital only after his condition deteriorated on April 11. He succumbed to the virus after a few hours, passing away at 1.50am the following day.
"We are also puzzled where he could have picked up the virus from," Miqdam said.
Miqdam said the leader had no involvement in Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur that took place in late February and has become the country's Covid-19 epicentre.
After the leader's death, the Health Ministry immediately swung into action and began tracing his close contacts.
They found 39 people within the leader's circle had been infected.
They include 11 of the deceased's family members and 15 AFT tahfiz students, according to Miqdam.
Seremban had since been declared as a red zone following this.
Following the sudden spike, health authorities set up a base at the Sheikh Haji Ahmad Mosque to test all of the group's members for the virus over two days until April 17.
As of noon Monday (April 21), a total of 77 positive cases were recorded in Sendayan. Sources said all 77 were linked to the group and are undergoing treatment.
Outbreak shook and woke up local community
Arriz Tassri Abu Bakar, the mosque's committee member, said the incident had sent chills down the local community's spine as many had taken things for granted and never took face masks seriously.
"It really shocked all of us. From zero, the number of cases suddenly shot up to over 30 in one day. It frightened the people, especially when fake news started being circulated about the infection.
"This area, although it's a town, but the way of life is like in a kampung. Many never bothered to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. And so was the case with face masks.
"But when the area became a red zone, things immediately changed," he said.
Store helper Muhammad Najmi Omar, 22, who works at a mart near AFT premises echoed this.
"Before the MCO, the area was bustling with many people coming here to shop. But since it was implemented, the number has declined. And now, with the positive cases detected, even fewer.
"We have also started to check every customer's body temperature and asked them to use hand sanitiser.
"Before this many of the people here also did not wear face masks, but now, alhamdulillah, almost all who came had started wearing one," he said.
Another Sendayan resident Mohd Azmi Ibrahim, who works as a technician, is worried that the area might be put under an enhanced MCO, adding that he was not alone.
"I don't think I am ready to be placed under enhanced MCO. I still have to go to work every day," he said.
"I hope that everybody will follow the order to stay at home and break the chain of infection," said the man who works at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
In late 2012, more than a hundred of supporters led by Ashaari's younger brother Hashim Muhammad set up a breakaway group, where they formed a close-knit community dubbed "Albab Family Trading" (AFT) in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan.
They have generally kept a low-profile but in recent weeks, suddenly found themselves once again under the national spotlight after a new Covid-19 cluster spread in the group.
Miqdam Bakhtiar, a member of that close-knit community, said none of them knew where the infection originated from.
The group of 60 families and 300 members have built up a chain of grocery stores, restaurants, clinics and became a household name in Sendayan.
Miqdam, who manages Qathrunnada, a nasyid band under the group, said it was only after one of their leaders passed away did they realise that the virus had infiltrated the close-knit community.
(Note: Malaysiakini is withholding the victim's name out of respect for his family's privacy)
"He had been suffering from diabetes and hypertension for quite a while. Besides these, he also had heart complications.
"So, we thought he was just not well as he had been like that for some time. And when he is okay, sometimes he would go out to visit AFT tahfiz students and join them for prayers.
"Otherwise, he would spend most of his time resting at home, especially during the movement control order (MCO)," said Miqdam.
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The 54-year-old victim was taken to the Seremban hospital only after his condition deteriorated on April 11. He succumbed to the virus after a few hours, passing away at 1.50am the following day.
"We are also puzzled where he could have picked up the virus from," Miqdam said.
Miqdam said the leader had no involvement in Tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur that took place in late February and has become the country's Covid-19 epicentre.
After the leader's death, the Health Ministry immediately swung into action and began tracing his close contacts.
They found 39 people within the leader's circle had been infected.
They include 11 of the deceased's family members and 15 AFT tahfiz students, according to Miqdam.
Seremban had since been declared as a red zone following this.
Following the sudden spike, health authorities set up a base at the Sheikh Haji Ahmad Mosque to test all of the group's members for the virus over two days until April 17.
As of noon Monday (April 21), a total of 77 positive cases were recorded in Sendayan. Sources said all 77 were linked to the group and are undergoing treatment.
Outbreak shook and woke up local community
Arriz Tassri Abu Bakar, the mosque's committee member, said the incident had sent chills down the local community's spine as many had taken things for granted and never took face masks seriously.
"It really shocked all of us. From zero, the number of cases suddenly shot up to over 30 in one day. It frightened the people, especially when fake news started being circulated about the infection.
"This area, although it's a town, but the way of life is like in a kampung. Many never bothered to wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle. And so was the case with face masks.
"But when the area became a red zone, things immediately changed," he said.
Store helper Muhammad Najmi Omar, 22, who works at a mart near AFT premises echoed this.
"Before the MCO, the area was bustling with many people coming here to shop. But since it was implemented, the number has declined. And now, with the positive cases detected, even fewer.
"We have also started to check every customer's body temperature and asked them to use hand sanitiser.
"Before this many of the people here also did not wear face masks, but now, alhamdulillah, almost all who came had started wearing one," he said.
Another Sendayan resident Mohd Azmi Ibrahim, who works as a technician, is worried that the area might be put under an enhanced MCO, adding that he was not alone.
"I don't think I am ready to be placed under enhanced MCO. I still have to go to work every day," he said.
"I hope that everybody will follow the order to stay at home and break the chain of infection," said the man who works at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
Some cultural practices should be changed. Eg instead of shaking hands when we meet someone we should bow or do a namaste.
ReplyDeleteCultural practices like eating with hands off common serving dishes while seated on the floor. I doubt floormats (or bare feet) are properly cleaned before mealtime.
The Asalkan Bukan Yahudi club better keep their fingers crossed and pray that the clever Jews don't find the cure.....
ReplyDeleteQUOTE
Breaking News.
Israel has found a possible 100% cure for Coronavirus.
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The Israeli coronavirus drug reportedly with a 100% success rate even among severely ill patients is being tested in the United States for the first time.
Pluristem Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company based in Haifa/Israel, reported that seven patients who were at a high risk of death due to respiratory failure, multi-system organ failure, including heart and kidney failure survived after receiving this medication.
The seven patients were treated with Pluristem’s allogeneic placental expanded (PLX) cells. Essentially, these cells can potentially suppress or reverse the dangerous over-activation of the immune system that causes death in many coronavirus patients.
Now, a critical COVID-19 patient in the US has been treated with PLX cell therapy at Holy Name Medical Center in New Jersey. The results of the treatment have yet to be released.
Pluristem Therapeutics uses placentas to grow smart cells and programs them to secrete therapeutic proteins in the bodies of sick people.
company CEO and president Yaky Yanay said Thursday that a trial will come soon and, once conducted, he hopes that “approval can be very fast.” Upon receiving the green light from regulators, he said, massive quantities of treatment can be prepared. “We can manufacture cells to treat thousands very quickly,” he said.
Treatment consists of 15-milliliter doses of cells — known as PLacental eXpanded cells — administered in simple inter-muscular injections. Once in the body, Yanay said that the cells become like “a small factory that generates therapeutic proteins.”
He explained: “Most drugs we know are administered in the quantity we need, but this is a ‘drug’ that can sense the human body’s environment, and based on the signals that the cells receive from the body, they secrete therapeutic proteins that push the body toward regeneration.”
The cells secrete two types of proteins. One reduces inflammation; the other is to regulate the immune system. Yanay hopes these so-called immunomodulation proteins can slam the brakes on the immune system to stop it turning on itself, as commonly happens with critical coronavirus patients.
“They stop the body from attacking its own organs by having the placenta cells secrete immunomodulatory factors, basically relaxing the immune system, as the other proteins reduce inflammation,” said Yanay.
He elaborated: “Patients who are in severe condition and dying are actually dying from a severe respiratory condition. What is actually happening is there is a very high level of inflammation and at a certain point the immune system of the patient will attack [the patient], mostly in the lungs.”
Until now, Pluristem’s technology has been largely used to treat people suffering from poor blood flow to the legs, but the company’s scientists were able to quickly repurpose the cells to treat coronavirus patients.
“We take cells from the placenta after full-term delivery and we have developed technology to expand the cells to very large numbers, in an environment that mimics the human body,” Yanay said. “The technology allows us to treat more than 20,000 people from a single placenta.”
His team “programs” the cells, which then have a wide range of proteins they can secrete. The cells don’t just deliver the proteins but also “adjust the level of secretion based on signals they receive from the body,” he said.
Yanay stated that Pluristem, which is based in Haifa, will carry on treating people using patient-by-patient approvals while working as quickly as possible for full approval by regulators.
UNQUOTE
This is not a vaccine. It's injecting alien cells into the host. It just regulates and still the ones doing the job of fighting the virus is still the host's immune system.
DeleteWhat happens to this alien cells next after the patient is cured from the virus? Does it die off? Assimilate? Kept growing and multiply? What will the side effects be after years of multiplication inside the host's body if it should occur?