H1N1
cases up 56 to 1,111 in Singapore
By Nicholas Fang, Channel NewsAsia
| Posted: 06 July 2009 1908 hrs
Photos
1 of 1 
Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng hospital in
Singapore
SINGAPORE: Singapore has confirmed 56 new cases of H1N1
flu, bringing the total tally to 1,111 confirmed cases.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement that
investigations are ongoing for 31 cases. Of the 77 cases
investigated on Monday, there were 59 local cases and 18 imported
ones.
Of the total 1,080 cases investigated so far, 650 were local cases
and 430 were imported ones.
Of the 56 new confirmed cases, almost all were mild, although there
were two notable cases.
A 63-year-old man sought emergency treatment at Tan Tock Seng
Hospital's Emergency Department on Sunday, after three days of
flu-like symptoms. He was immediately admitted and isolated for
treatment of several complications, including pneumonia and heart
disease.
Laboratory diagnosis confirmed that he was also infected with H1N1
and he was started on Tamiflu that night.
As he has multiple co-morbidities (coronary heart disease,
hypertension, hyperlipideamia), he was transferred to ICU on Monday
morning. He remains ill, and is being monitored
closely.
The other case involves a 40-year-old Indonesian man from the Asian
Youth Games (AYG) Indonesian contingent, who developed flu-like
symptoms on July 2. He was treated symptomatically by the
Indonesian team's doctor.
He sought medical attention again on July 5 at the AYG Medical
Centre and laboratory diagnosis confirmed that he was infected with
H1N1. The MOH said he is in stable condition.
Two close contacts of this case will be issued home quarantine
orders, but are currently well.
MOH said it conducts routine bio-surveillance on samples of
patients presented with influenza-like illness in its clinics and
hospitals. Latest data showed that 13 per cent of samples taken
from patients with such illnesses are positive for
H1N1.
This
means that 13 in 100 patients with influenza-like illness have
H1N1. MOH said that this proportion will grow as the virus spreads
further in the community, and displaces other influenza
strains.
The ministry also said the current strain remains mild, except for
high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions where
complications and even deaths may occur.
At-risk individuals are advised to seek prompt medical attention if
unwell.
- CNA/ir
