The Health Ministry has declared the country free of bird flu. Its parliamentary secretary, Datuk Lee Kah Choon, said there had been no new bird flu cases in the last few days. "Nobody in the country had been infected with the H5N1 virus in the past two weeks," he said after opening a Nur Sejahtera programme at Sunshine Square in Bayan Baru yesterday.

Earlier, Lee said there were 40,000 cancer cases reported in government hospitals each year. "Cancer cases are on the rise and 31 per cent of the cases are breast cancer. "Breast cancer is the number one disease afflicting women." He said cancer was the third highest reported disease in government hospitals. Yet, many women still did not go for breast cancer screening. "There is a need for more awareness among women to go for screening. There is nothing to be ashamed of and early detection may save lives."

He said the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry had started a RM50 subsidy programme for women to undergo breast cancer screening at hospitals in the country.

"We hope that more women will take the initiative to undergo breast cancer screening."  

Source: NST