An NS man has died of an unknown virus that led to acute liver
failure.
22-year-old Hoo Shuwei developed a high fever on 1 May and was
admitted to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) two days later for
flu-like symptoms.
According to The Sunday Times, Associate Professor Ooi
Choon Jin, head of the hospital's
gastroenterology and
hepatology department,
said Hoo was "already in acute organs failure upon his admission".
A team led by liver specialists tended to him.
Common viral causes such as hepatitis A, B, C and E, and other
less common causes like metabolic disease and inheritable disorders
were ruled out in preliminary laboratory investigations.
Hoo's condition deteriorated and he was put on the priority
waiting list for a transplant. However, he died 10 days after his
admission, before a donor could be found.
According to SGH, the type of virus is unidentified.
The same paper understands that there are no known trends of
unknown causes of acute liver failure in Singapore.
Prof Ooi explained that viruses that can generally cause
multi-organ failure either by directly attacking the organs or by
the body mounting a huge immune response to the presence of the
virus.
"When triggered, the immune response sets off a vicious circle,
releasing more substances to overcome the virus, yet in the
meantime resulting in damage to the rest of the body or organs," he
said.
it is sad that the poor NSF is not given attention earlier