Sungguhpun kematian arwah Din Beramboi tidak dikaitkan dengan leptospirosis, ini tidak bermakna kuman ini tidak berbahaya. Malah dikatakan kuman ini mampu membawa akibat yang sama dengan demam dengki berdarah dan sukar untuk dihapuskan. Di sini saya sertakan keterangan ringkas mengenai leptospirosis yang telah dipetik daripada forum Cari.com.my.

Jangkitan kuman kencing tikus atau leptospirosis yang jarang berlaku itu dipercayai menular daripada haiwan kepada manusia dan kebiasaannya terjadi secara kebetulan.

Menurut Pakar Perunding Veterinar, Dr. Intan Suriati Abdul Manaf, leptospirosis ialah penyakit berjangkit disebabkan bakteria Leptospira sp. yang sangat tipis dan berbentuk pilin seperti mata gerudi.

Bakteria Leptospira juga boleh hidup dalam air tawar selama sebulan malah ia juga boleh membiak di air masin.

170 anak

“Banyak haiwan yang boleh menjadi pembawa kepada bakteria Leptospira, tidak kira ia haiwan peliharaan seperti kucing, arnab, lembu, babi, kuda, anjing dan haiwan liar lain seperti rakun dan serigala.

“Bagaimanapun, tikus dikesan sebagai penyebar utama bakteria ini kerana kitaran hidupnya yang suka makan dan tinggal di tempat kotor (menjadi tempat bakteria Leptospira membiak).

“Iklim negara yang lembap menjadi faktor terbaik kepada pembiakan bakteria ini. Malah, pada suhu sederhana ia boleh hidup lebih lama,” katanya.

Tambah Intan, kitaran hidup tikus yang cepat membiak dan sukar dikawal membantu penyebaran bakteria dengan lebih meluas.

“Jangka hayat tikus betina adalah di antara dua dan tiga tahun tetapi ia sudah boleh bunting dan aktif seks hanya dalam tempoh enam minggu.

“Setiap kelahiran, tikus boleh melahirkan lima hingga tujuh ekor anak tikus. Tikus betina boleh bunting sebaik melahirkan anak,” kata Intan.

Secara purata, dalam kitaran hidup seekor tikus betina, ia boleh bunting sehingga 28 kali dan melahirkan sehingga 170 ekor anak.

Tikus gemarkan sampah dan air bertakung seperti di lorong belakang hotel terkemuka, kolong bawah tanah hinggalah ke petak sawah atau kandang kuda. Rumah yang dijaga rapi juga tidak terkecuali daripada menjadi sasaran makhluk perosak tersebut.

“Bakteria Leptospira akan tersebar melalui cecair yang dikeluarkan oleh tikus seperti air kencing, air liur, darah, air mani dan najis.

Rumput

“Malah, tikus betina yang bunting boleh memindahkan bakteria tersebut kepada anak dalam kandungannya.

“Bakteria daripada kencing tikus juga boleh tersebar melalui air atau tanah. Menyentuh pokok atau tanah lembap yang tercemar juga boleh memindahkan bakteria kepada manusia.

“Oleh sebab itu, saya mengesyorkan pemakaian sarung tangan sewaktu melakukan kerja-kerja berkebun dan basuh tangan menggunakan antiseptik,” kata Intan.

Menurut beliau, jangkitan terus bakteria Leptospira daripada tubuh tikus jarang dilaporkan sebaliknya terjadi apabila haiwan peliharaan seperti kucing atau anjing meminum air dari lopak yang sudah dicemari dengan kencing tikus.

“Kebiasaannya kucing yang meminum air dari tempat bertakung yang telah dicemari kencing tikus berisiko tinggi untuk mendapat leptospirosis.

“Pemilik kucing yang membersihkan kucing dan tersentuh dengan kencing, air liur, tisu atau permukaan lembap lain juga akan terdedah kepada jangkitan ini,” ujarnya.

Gerudi

Simptom penyakit hanya akan muncul dalam masa empat hingga 12 hari selepas kuman atau bakteria Leptospira menjangkiti haiwan atau manusia.

“Lazimnya, bakteria ini boleh memasuki badan manusia melalui luka atau tisu lembut seperti dalam mulut, hidung atau mata. Jika kita pegang haiwan yang dijangkiti leptospirosis dan makan tanpa mencuci tangan, bakteria tersebut akan turut memasuki tubuh sebelum memasuki saluran darah.

“Bakteria ini akan menggerudi sel-sel dalam badan termasuk hati dan buah pinggang. Malah, dua organ tersebut adalah lokasi utama pembiakan bakteria ini.

“Akibatnya, sel-sel organ penting haiwan yang diserang bakteria ini akan rosak dan gagal berfungsi manakala pembuluh darah akan pecah sehingga membawa kepada kencing berdarah,” jelas Intan.

Dalam kes serius, leptospirosis boleh menyebabkan kematian. Tahap jangkitan berbeza antara individu atau haiwan mengikut daya ketahanan masing-masing.

“Sukar untuk mengenal pasti jangkitan ini pada peringkat awal kerana simptom yang ditunjukkan sangat umum.

“Pemeriksaan terperinci melibatkan ujian makmal, ujian darah, analisis air kencing dan beberapa ujian lain perlu dilakukan sebelum mengetahui ia berpunca daripada Leptospira,” ujarnya.

Kata Intan, simptom akan menjadi lebih serius apabila penyakit memasuki fasa kedua dan ketiga kerana ia boleh menyebabkan kegagalan fungsi buah pinggang dan kerosakan hati.

“Apabila dijangkiti, biasanya bakteria Leptospira mengambil masa sekitar 10 hari untuk sampai ke organ penting sebelum menimbulkan gejala.

“Dalam tempoh ini, rawatan sewajarnya perlu diberikan untuk mengelak komplikasi tidak diingini,” kata Intan.

Seperti jangkitan bakteria lain, leptospirosis boleh dirawat dengan mengambil antibiotik seperti penisilin, streptomisin, eritromisin, tetrasiklin dan doksisiklin.

“Kos ujian mengenal pasti bakteria Leptospira tinggi sehingga menyebabkan kebanyakan pemilik haiwan yang dijangkiti kuman itu hanya mengambil rawatan berdasarkan simptom yang ditunjukkan haiwan peliharaan mereka.

“Untuk tujuan itu, antibiotik adalah pilihan utama namun ia tidak akan membunuh bakteria itu sepenuhnya sebaliknya hanya meredakan simptom jangkitan seperti demam panas, muntah, cirit-birit atau demam kuning.

“Malah selepas tiga bulan ia sihat secara klinikalnya, bakteria itu masih ada di tubuhnya,” jelasnya.

Walaupun kita masih bersedih dengan pemergian arwah Din Beramboi, namun saya fikir kita perlulah mengambil iktibar daripada apa yang telah berlaku. Seharusnya kita tidak boleh memandang ringan terhadap persekitaran yang boleh membawa kepada penyakit yang boleh memudaratkan atau membawa kematian. Sudah tentu kita tidak mahu kehilangan orang tersayang dalam sekelip mata bukan? Jadi pastikanlah persekitaran rumah, tempat kerja atau tempat-tempat yang selalu anda kunjungi adalah bersih dan selamat.

Tweet This Post

Sebelum 90 – RM 0.89
Tahun 1990 – RM 1.10 (kenaikan RM 0.21)
01/10/2000 – RM 1.20 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
20/10/2001 – RM 1.30 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
01/05/2002 – RM 1.32 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
31/10/2002 – RM 1.33 (kenaikan RM 0.01)
01/03/2003 – RM 1.35 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/05/2004 – RM 1.37 (kenaikan RM 0.02)
01/10/2004 – RM 1.42 (kenaikan RM 0.05)
05/05/2005 – RM 1.52 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
31/07/2005 – RM 1.62 (kenaikan RM 0.10)
28/02/2006 – RM 1.92 (kenaikan RM 0.30)
05/06/2008 – RM 2.70 (kenaikan RM 0.78)

Tweet This Post

SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo’s board of directors plans to reject Microsoft’s $44.6 billion hostile bid with a letter Monday saying the offer undervalues Yahoo, a person familiar with the matter said Saturday.

The decision to reject the bid was taken following a board meeting Friday in which directors explored ways in which to respond to Microsoft’s week-old bid. The board heard presentations from Yahoo’s management and its bankers, according to people familiar with the discussions. Several people argued that the company was worth more than what Microsoft offered, this person said.

The board was also presented with various options for maintaining Yahoo’s independence, including an advertising partnership with Google that could improve Yahoo’s bottom line, this person said.

Lawyers at the meeting discussed the antitrust implications of a tie-up with Google, as it would extend that company’s dominance of the search advertising market, the person said. They also discussed how to press Microsoft to increase its bid.

Yahoo declined to comment on Saturday. Yahoo said earlier in the week that its board was evaluating Microsoft’s offer and other alternatives.

Yahoo could give an immediate lift to its revenue and profit by outsourcing its search-related ad business to Google, because Google’s advertising technology generates far more cash for every search query, on average. This option had long been recommended by some Yahoo investors and analysts, but Yahoo executives had said that search ads were an integral part of the company’s business.

In recent years, Yahoo has invested millions in a new search advertising system, called Panama, in an effort to close the gap with Google.

The technology, which Yahoo began to roll out early last year, has helped increase search advertising revenue, but Google’s technology remains more efficient, according to analysts. For Yahoo executives, replacing Panama, or other parts of its search system, with Google’s technology would be an admission of defeat.

Nevertheless, the board has considered the idea, after a call last week by Google’s chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, to his Yahoo counterpart, Jerry Yang, offering his company’s help in fending off the Microsoft bid.

Source: New York Times

Tweet This Post

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Unable to topple Google Inc. on its own, Microsoft Corp. is trying to force crippled rival Yahoo Inc. into a shotgun marriage, with a wager worth nearly $42 billion that the two companies together will have a better chance of tackling the Internet search leader.

Microsoft’s audacious attempt to buy Yahoo, spelled out in an unsolicited offer announced Friday, shows just how much Google threatens the world’s largest software maker’s grip on how people interact with computers.

For Yahoo, the bid represents another painful reminder of how missed opportunities and mismanagement combined to open the door for Google to supplant it as the Internet’s main gateway, decimating its stock price in the process.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is trying to avoid a similar fate at Google’s hands as more people access services and computer programs online instead of relying on packaged software applications.

Although Microsoft remains the world’s most valuable technology company, its position will become more precarious unless it can cultivate a more loyal Internet audience and generate more online ad revenue to subsidize the free services taken for granted on the Internet.

Microsoft is acutely aware of the upheaval that can be caused by a pivotal shift in technology, having been the biggest beneficiary during the 1980s and 1990s of a transition from mainframe computers to personal computers that knocked IBM Corp. off its pedestal.

“Microsoft has to do this deal. It’s a battle that Microsoft needs to win,” said AMR Research analyst Jonathan Yarmis.

But there’s no guarantee that Yahoo will be willing to sell to Microsoft — or that the deal will win the necessary approvals from antitrust regulators in the United States and Europe if Yahoo capitulates.

Sunnyvale-based Yahoo had little to say Friday beyond a terse statement assuring its shareholders that its board will “carefully and promptly” study the bid.

In a conference call Friday, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer indicated he won’t take no for an answer after Yahoo rebuffed takeover overtures a year ago.

“This is a decision we have — and I have — thought long and hard about,” Ballmer said. “We are confident it’s the right path for Microsoft and Yahoo.”

Yahoo will likely face intense pressure to accept, given its steadily sliding profits and a murky 2008 outlook that caused its stock price to drop to a four-year low earlier this week.

Microsoft’s $31-per-share offer — originally valued at $44.6 billion — represented a 62 percent premium to Yahoo’s closing price late Thursday, although it’s below Yahoo’s 52-week high of $34.08 reached less than four months ago. On Friday, the total value of the cash-and-stock deal fell to $41.7 billion, or $28.95 per share, because Microsoft’s shares declined on the news.

Yahoo shares soared to a split-adjusted high of $118.75 in 2000 before the dot-com bust. That peak coincidentally also was just before Yahoo gave Google its first big break by hiring it to run its search engine.

Search engines are crucial tools because they have become a central hub in hugely profitable ad networks.

Advertisers around the world are expected to double their spending on the Internet during the next three years as more people get their news and entertainment on the Web instead of television, radio, newspapers and magazines. The trend is expected to create an $80 billion online ad market in 2010, up from an estimated $40 billion last year.

After realizing how much money Google was making from search, Yahoo introduced its own technology in 2004, but by then it was too little, too late.

Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li expects Yahoo to resist, predicting the company “will do everything possible to stay independent,” even if it means swallowing its pride and rehiring Google to run its search engine and sell ads on its site.

Other analysts still think Yahoo might try to line up a white knight rather than fall into Microsoft’s clutches. Analysts mentioned several other potential suitors, including News Corp. and InterActiveCorp.

Dinosaur Securities analyst David Garrity even thinks it’s possible that China’s search leader, Baidu.com Inc., or Chinese e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba.com Inc. might bid for Yahoo. Alibaba.com is 40 percent owned by Yahoo.

In what most analysts regard as a long shot, there was even some chatter that longtime Microsoft rival Apple Inc. and its CEO, Steve Jobs, might come to Yahoo’s rescue.

If push comes to shove, most analysts believe Microsoft will raise its cash-and-stock bid.

Investors appear confident an agreement eventually will be reached. Yahoo shares climbed $9.20, or nearly 48 percent, to $28.38 while Microsoft shares fell $2.15, or 6.6 percent, to $30.45 — a sign that Wall Street is skeptical about whether the acquisition makes sense.

“It’s a classic case of a buyer overbidding to blow any potential competitors out of the water,” said James Owers, a Georgia State University professor of corporate finance.

Shortly after Microsoft disclosed its intentions, the U.S. Justice Department said it is “interested” in reviewing antitrust issues. European Union officials declined to comment, but analysts said Microsoft probably will face more challenges getting a Yahoo acquisition approved in Europe than the United States.

Microsoft made its offer a few hours after Yahoo’s chairman, Terry Semel, stepped down, removing a potential stumbling block. Semel had rejected Microsoft’s takeover overtures a year ago while he was still Yahoo’s chief executive, according to a letter released Friday.

Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang replaced Semel as CEO nearly eight months ago while another Yahoo director, Roy Bostock, is now chairman.

Yang, a billionaire who is one of Yahoo’s largest shareholders, isn’t believed to have warm and fuzzy feelings about Microsoft. He has openly expressed his admiration for Jobs and last year even invited the Apple CEO to Yahoo’s headquarters for a pep talk with employees.

Microsoft believes its technological expertise will be a good fit with Yahoo’s knack for providing content and services that keep people coming back to its site. Combined, the two companies would reach a U.S. online audience of 142 million compared with 124 million for Google, according to Nielsen Online.

But Yahoo and Microsoft are so far behind Google in the lucrative search market that they still will have a lot of ground to make up even if they joined forces.

Google already controls 62 percent of the worldwide search market, and has been widening its lead, according to the latest data from comScore Media Metrix. By combining, Microsoft and Yahoo would have a 16 percent share of the worldwide search market, the Web traffic tracking company said.

Google shares fell $48.40, or 8.6 percent, to close at $515.90 Friday, but the downturn appeared to be driven more by a disappointing fourth-quarter earnings report than by Microsoft’s bid for Yahoo.

Besides helping to boost its online ad revenue, Microsoft believes it could mine more profit from Yahoo by jettisoning workers and eliminating overlapping operations.

Microsoft said it sees at least $1 billion in cost savings if it buys Yahoo. Microsoft executives deflected questions about how many jobs might be lost, but the company emphasized retention packages will be offered to Yahoo engineers and other key employees, including some executives.

The fate of Yahoo’s brand also is unclear if Microsoft takes over. Both Ballmer and Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft’s platforms and services division, hailed Yahoo’s strong brand value but did not commit to keeping the name alive.

AP Business Writer Jennifer Malloy in New York and AP Business Writer Jessica Mintz in Seattle contributed to this story.

Source: Yahoo.com 

Tweet This Post

I would like to bring to the attention Malaysiakini readers that I feel there is no more honour left in this country’s Parliament. Due to the immunity against prosecution given under the law, the Parliament is being used as place to create lies, make irresponsible and sexist remarks. It is a place where our esteemed MPs show their childish behaviour

For example, during the recent 2008 budget speech in Parliament, the prime minister said and I quote, “Mr Speaker, the government has progressively increased the access as well as reduced the cost of education. Last year, the examination fees for PMR, SPM and STPM were abolished. The only remaining fees are the examination fee for Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia and the annual fee for primary and secondary schools. Effective 2008, all these fees will be abolished.”
The news that there will be no school fees in Malaysia was further strengthen by the education minister as a part of his campaign strategy to head the Unesco. I quote Bernama report on Nov 1, “Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said today that he was proud to mention that education in Malaysia is free when he spoke at Unesco’s 34th general conference in Paris recently.”

The local media then jumped on the bandwagon, talking about how good this government is because they provide free education in Malaysia. Unfortunately, sometime in early November 2007, schools were issued with a circular (SPI 13/2007 dated Oct 30, 2007) where instructions on the issues of school fees in 2008 was highlighted. Among others:

• The word “yuran” or fees has been dropped and replaced by the words “bayaran tambahan” or additional payments (Refers to Item 6 of the SPI). I quote: “All parents will be required to make payments and not fees for all additional services and facilities provided.”
• Item 10 of the SPI says that school heads can apply to impose these charges by submitting a request to the Education Department by Sept 30 every year.
• Item 11 of the SPI says that the Education Department has the right to approve or change the packages if it feels that the package requested by the school’s head is not appropriate to the school’s environment
• Under Item 16 (16.1, 16.2 and 16.3), parental consent must be obtained via the Parent-Teacher Association committee in choosing the package.

Let us study the SPI 4/1998 which has not been rescinded despite the presence of SPI 13/2007. If we were to compare the “charges” schools have been imposing under SPI 4/1998 with the new SPI 13/2007 for the primary schools, we can conclude the following:

• Only the special fees has been removed, that is the RM4.50 for primary schools and RM9 for secondary schools.
• They have introduced new package charges under co-curricular activities between RM2 to RM5.
• They also increase the charges for internal exam papers from RM5 to RM8.
• School sports day, which was previously not charged for, is now being charged between RM6 to RM10. MSSM fees has now increased from RM0.50 to RM2.
• The other charges remain the same.

What can we conclude about the “free education” as announced by the PM and proudly mentioned at the Unesco event by the education minister recently, based on the facts that is available us?

The following is my analysis:

• The free school fees is merely an election gimmick. I think it was announced without proper studies being done. Perhaps some genius in the government was trying to hoodwink the public.
• The removal of the RM4.50 special school fees as indicated by the SPI 13/2007 was in fact replaced with other charges. Not only was it being replaced, but they have smartly replaced the word “fees” with the word “additional charges”.
• The new charges are actually between RM6 to RM21 more than what was charged by the government before the abolishment of the school fees. For schools that opt for package B, parents have to pay an additional RM13.50.
• What was actually dissolved by the government is not the actual fees but the word “fees” that has been replaced with the term “additional payments”.
• The role of the PTA is actually as a rubber stamp body whose voice and functions are being curtailed. What is the point of getting the PTA’s approval if the Education Department has the right to change what was agreed at the school level (Item 11 of the SPI 13/2007)?In the first place, if the Education Ministry via its circular has decided on the rates and the packages, why is there a need for the PTA to get involved? It is merely a tactic to show that parents are involved in the decision-making. I beg to differ, the PTA was made into a rubber stamp and its role is to endorse what the Education Ministry has decided.

Honorable PM , my faith in you as an honest and good leader is question ? If your intention is to increase the school fees then you should have said so during your budget speech. Don’t lie to the people in the honorable House. Just because Parliament provides you with immunity from prosecution does not mean that you can lie to the public.

I believe most Malaysians are educated enough to understand the need to increase fees. I, for one, has no issue if it was done in an honest way. There is no need to lie for political mileage and for our education minister to go to the UN (Unesco) and lie to the world. This is simply embarrassing. It reflects poorly on us at the international level. It appears that lying is now an acceptable culture.

Please do the right thing. Don’t preach one thing and do something else. As for the parents, I feel sorry for all of us as again. Our function is being curtailed by the ministry. Our voice are not important at the school level.

Tweet This Post