Beriberi Outbreak Among Unauthorised Immigrants in a Detention Camp in Malaysia

Abdul Rahman S 1 , Jeffree MS 2 , Kamaludin F 3 , Din IA 1 , Yusof M 1 , Ahmed K 4

Affiliations 

  • 1 Epidemic Intelligence Program (EIP), Ministry of Health Malaysia, Complex E, Federal Government Administrative Centre, 62590, Putrajaya, Malaysia
  • 2 Community and Family Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88300, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. saffree@ums.edu.my
  • 3 Institute for Medical Research (IMR), Ministry of Health Malaysia, Jalan Pahang, 50588, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 4 Community and Family Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88300, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
J Immigr Minor Health, 2018 Oct;20(5):1294-1297.
PMID: 29159485 DOI: 10.1007/s10903-017-0674-5

Abstract

In February 2012, a district health authority received three inmates with bilateral leg swelling and difficulty in breathing from a detention camp for unauthorized immigrants. A case control study was conducted. Fasting blood samples of case and control groups were collected according to instructions of the laboratory for determining thiamine level, and their 1 week dietary intake was analyzed. 9% (21/226) of inmates had bilateral leg swelling, and 75% (6/8) of them had low thiamine level (

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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