KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Ministry of Health on Saturday (Mar 3) rubbished claims of a food poisoning outbreak linked to the safety of the water supply in the Klang Valley.
A message circulating on WhatsApp claimed there was a salmonella outbreak in the area, the New Straits Times reported.
It added that the message purported to be from a doctor in a government hospital, and urged people to be cautious when consuming food and drink in eateries.
Malaysia’s Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a statement that the ministry had confirmed the information contained in the message was false.
"Based on checks and verification, no increase in the occurrence of food poisoning has been reported," he said.
"The occurrence of food poisoning cases is currently isolated and under control, and has nothing to do with water supply or water supply disruption."
"The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor the status of food poisoning cases," he said, adding that the public should not worry and should refrain from trusting any information which has not been verified by the ministry.