Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Pertemuan Piah, Sirul penuh air mata

Rombongan “See For (C4) Yourself” mempertemukan Piah dan anaknya Sirul di Pusat Tahanan Imigresen, Australia, hari ini. - Foto ihsan Harakahdaily.net

SHAH ALAM – Suasana pilu dan hiba menyelubungi Pusat Tahanan Imigresen (IDC), Villawood, Sydney sebaik sahaja rombongan misi “See For (C4) Yourself” berjaya mempertemukan ibu Sirul Azhar Umar, Piah Samad dengan bekas anggota Unit Tindakan Khas (UTK) itu, kira-kira 5.30 petang waktu tempatan, hari ini.

Menurut Ketua Penerangan Pas Pusat, Datuk Mahfuz Omar yang mengetuai rombongan itu berkata, hanya linangan air mata menjadi pengubat kerinduan anak-beranak itu yang berpelukan sebaik sahaja pertemuan tersebut.

“Suasana begitu hiba dan sayu bagi kami pada saat mula pertemuan tersebut apabila si ibu dan anak berpelukan.

“Tangisan air mata kerinduan seorang ibu kepada anaknya yang berjauhan dan belum tentu nasib yang melanda,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, hari ini.

Rombongan misi tersebut ke Sydney, Australia yang bertolak semalam untuk bertemu dengan bekas anggota UTK itu yang kini ditahan di sebuah pusat Imigresen di negara kangaroo itu.

Mahfuz sebelum berlepas berkata, misi itu lebih kepada misi kemanusiaan semata-mata bukan bertujuan untuk mencetuskan kontroversi.

Lebih menyayat hati lagi apabila ibu Sirul sempat membawa bekal sambal bilis dari kampung kepada anaknya yang kini dalam tahanan pihak berkuasa Australia.

Mengulas lanjut, Mahfuz turut menyifatkan misi kemanusiaan anjuran Pas itu berjaya apabila dapat mempertemukan kedua-dua anak beranak itu termasuk adik perempuan Sirul, Noriatin Umar.

“Saya berpandangan misi kemanusiaan ini berjaya apabila dapat mempertemukan seorang ibu kepada anaknya yang dikasihi.

“Puan Piah membawa sambal bilis dari kampung manakala saya membeli anggur dan kasut sukan yang dipesan oleh Sirul,” ujarnya.

Mahfuz turut merakamkan penghargaan dan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Australia kerana memberikan kebenaran untuk bertemu dengan Sirul.

“Saya mengucapkan jutaan terima kasih kepada kerajaan Australia khususnya pihak berkuasa Pusat Tahanan Imigresen yang memberikan kebenaran kami bertemu Sirul. Sirul juga menyatakan salam penghargaan buat semua yang prihatin terhadapnya,” katanya lagi.

- Sumber: Sinar Harian 

Origins of AIDS virus strains traced to gorillas

Two of four strains of the virus that can cause AIDS come from gorillas in southwestern Cameroon, scientists reported.

WASHINGTON: Two of four strains of the virus that can cause AIDS come from gorillas in southwestern Cameroon, an international team of scientists reported in studies published Monday in the United States.

The new information means that researchers now know the origins of all strains of the HIV virus that occur in people.

HIV (HIV-1) has at least four strains. Known as Groups M, N, O and P, each one had its own origin -- from ape to man, on at least four separate occasions.

Groups M and N were known to have come from chimpanzees in Cameroon. But until now the origin of the O and P strains had been unknown.

Results of the study led by Martine Peeters, a virologist at France's Research and Development Institute (IRD) and the University of Montpellier, appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

HIV-1's Group M is the most widely spread, behind the greatest part of the epidemic with more than 40 million people now infected around the world.

Group P has only been detected in two people so far. And Group O has been found in central and western Africa, infecting about 100,000.

The breakthrough was made possible thanks to genetic samples from chimpanzees and gorillas from Cameroon, Gabon, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"From this study and others that our team has conducted in the past it has become clear that both chimpanzees and gorillas harbor viruses that are capable of crossing the species barrier to humans and have the potential to cause major disease outbreaks," Peeters said.

"Understanding emerging disease origins is critical to gauge future human infection risks," she added.

Since 1981, about 78 million people have been infected by HIV, which destroys immune cells and leaves the body exposed to tuberculosis, pneumonia and other opportunistic diseases.

Thirty-nine million have died, according to UN estimates.

The team of scientists is from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and other institutions. 

- Source: Astro Awani