Influenza A (H1N1) Latest News Updates

QX179R SG

Man dies, bringing Singapore's H1N1-related deaths to 18

SINGAPORE: A 61-year-old Chinese man has become the latest victim of H1N1, bringing the death toll in Singapore to 18.

The man, who died on Sunday, had a medical history of hypertension, diabetes and end-stage renal failure.

40 H1N1-infected patients are currently hospitalised in Singapore, three in intensive care unit.

- CNA/ir

Arapahoe SG

any idea when Singapore is getting the vaccine?

QX179R SG

any idea when Singapore is getting the vaccine?

SINGAPORE is finalising a deal to obtain vaccines against the H1N1 virus causing the current pandemic. Details will be out later this week, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament on Monday.

Vaccines are 'the most important measure' to cut deaths from H1N1, he said in reply to Ang Mo Kio GRC MP, Dr Lam Pin Min, who asked for an update on the situation here.

Once a safe vaccine is available, it will be made 'widely available' to people. The ministry will recommend it first to front line staff and people at high risk of developing complications from the flu.

So far, 18 people have died from this new strain of flu, including some with no underlying medical problems.

'This continues to baffle the doctors and scientists and we do not have good answers as yet,' said Mr Khaw. 'This is why the country is still in alert code yellow, and not back to green, which signals that things are back to normal.'

Madam Halimah Yacob, MP for Jurong GRC, asked if the coming northern winter is cause for greater concern.

Replying, Mr Khaw said the fear is if that the virus mutates to a more dangerous form, but close monitoring has not shown such a change.

In fact, illness from the new H1N1 is falling. From a high of about 40 per cent of all flu-like illness, it now accounts for single-digit percentage in Canada and is in the teens in the United States.

--ST

Arapahoe SG

interesting insight on H1N1

Another theory holds that an infected North American pig traveled to Asia and passed along its virus to another pig with the Eurasian flu strain. That pig then infected a person, who brought the virus back to North America and spread it to other people. This would explain why H1N1 has seven out of eight genes in common with a flu sample taken from a Hong Kong pig in 2004.

QX179R SG

MOH secures 1m doses of H1N1 vaccine

The Ministry of Health says it has secured one million doses of Influenza A H1N1 vaccine from British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmith Kline.

They will be delivered by the end of the year.

Part of the supply will be reserved for essential personnel such as those in the healthcare sector.

MOH says large scale vaccination on a voluntary basis, will start once it's satisfied of the vaccine's safety and efficacy, currently being undertaken internationally.

Costs will be comparable to a seasonal flu vaccination.

The Ministry says the supply should meet Singapore's immediate needs.

If demand exceeed initial supply, GPs should prioritise vaccinations to people who have a higher risk of developing complications from H1N1.

MOH says it also has an existing contract with Australia's Serum Laboratories for further supplies.

--938Live

QX179R SG

Singapore to get H1N1 vaccine

The Health Ministry has secured one million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine from drug maker GlaxoSmithKline.

This is on top of its existing contract with Australian drug manufacturer Commonwealth Serum Laboratories.

Speaking at the sidelines of the launch of HPB's mobile health screening programme, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan says the one million doses will be delivered in batches before the end of the year.

While details as to how many doses will be sent in the first batch are unavailable, he says the first batch will arrive within the next few weeks.

Mr Khaw elaborates.

"I wanted some batches of vaccines which we can bring in early during this year so that, I think there's demand out there and of course we all worry about a second wave and if there's a second wave, demand would shoot up, so I felt safer if we supplement the ongoing contract."

Mr Khaw adds that more than 80 per cent of the doses will be sold to General Practitioners at cost price according to demand.

The rest, he says, will be given to essential personnel including frontline and healthcare staff.

If there's a rush for the vaccine, Mr Khaw says GPs are advised to give priority to those at higher risk of developing complications from the virus.

These include pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions.

On the cost of the H1N1 vaccine, Mr Khaw says it's comparable to that of normal seasonal flu.

While he leaves it to the GPs to determine the pricing, Mr Khaw highlights that the ministry will make sure the vaccines remain affordable.

"We have an interest to make sure that vaccines go to the right people and affordable. We are the supplier, while I do not see a need at this time to control retail pricing, but I've an interest to make sure prices are affordable so we will watch over this and in any case, we have our own public hospitals and polyclinics, so that will also provide a floor price."

Large-scale vaccination here will be done on a voluntary basis and this will start once the ministry feels the vaccine is safe for use.

Mr Khaw points out that as with all drugs, there may be side effects.

So he says the ministry will closely monitor countries like China and Australia that have launched or announced plans to conduct mass vaccination.

Mr Khaw also says Muslims going for the Haj pilgrimage in November and wish to vaccinate themselves against HIN1 may give an indication to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore or MUIS.

--938Live

QX179R SG

Swine flu virus has not mutated: WHO chief

HONG KONG (AFP) - – The head of the World Health Organization said Monday that the swine flu virus had apparently not yet mutated into a more serious disease and that the development of vaccines was proceeding on track.

The vaccines for (A)H1N1 influenza produced so far have been very effective, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said at the opening ceremony for the organisation's annual Western Pacific meeting in Hong Kong.

"The virus can mutate any time. But from April to now, we can see from the data given to us by laboratories worldwide that the virus is still very similar (to the previous state)," Chan told reporters.

Ideally, three billion doses of vaccines could be produced worldwide annually, she added, noting that China had already begun to vaccinate people.

She also said the Hong Kong government could relax its measures against a swine flu outbreak "step-by-step", advising them in the long-run to focus resources on saving patients and reducing the number of serious cases.

Chan said that only high-risk patients such as the elderly, the obese and those with underlying illnesses would be severely affected by the disease.

Swine flu in Hong Kong has raised fears of a repeat of the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak, when almost 300 people died and concern about the mysterious disease turned the metropolis into a virtual ghost town.

Chan managed Hong Kong's response to avian influenza and SARS during her nine-year stint as Hong Kong's director of health.

Top of the agenda for the WHO's meeting this week will be how to combat the swine flu pandemic in developing nations.

While the Americas still has the highest death toll from the virus, cases are expected to increase in the region as the northern hemisphere enters winter.

There are fears that poorer countries will not get enough vaccines, despite a pledge last week by the United States and eight other nations to make 10 percent of their swine flu vaccine supply available to others in need.

Developing countries are not only unable to produce the vaccine for the A(H1N1) flu virus but their people are more vulnerable to infection because of poverty, crowded living conditions and lack of healthcare, according to the WHO.

In the Western Pacific there are about a million people living in poor conditions without access to healthcare, WHO regional director Shin Young-soo told reporters Sunday.

QX179R SG

WHO warns against use of anti-viral drugs to prevent H1N1

The World Health Organisation has said that anti-viral drugs should not be used to prevent H1N1 flu, noting that almost half of drug resistance cases were linked to use of the medication before infection.

The UN agency said that 12 out of 28 cases of drug resistance to Tamiflu has been linked to preventative use.

Six other resistance cases occurred in patients with severe immunosuppression and four occurred in those who were using Tamiflu as a treatment.

Overall, the number of drug-resistance cases were sporadic and infrequent.

The WHO said, for people who have had exposure to an infected person and are at higher risk of developing severe or complicated illness, an alternative option is close monitoring for symptoms.

This should be followed by prompt early anti-viral treatment should symptoms develop.

--938Live

QX179R SG

First batch of H1N1 vaccines should arrive in few weeks' time: Health Minister

SINGAPORE : The first batch of H1N1 vaccines should arrive in Singapore in a few weeks' time, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said on Sunday.

But Mr Khaw said there is no confirmed date yet because there is strong global demand for the jab. The supplier is working out how much to give to different countries.

So the Ministry of Health is currently planning how to roll-out the vaccinations.

Mr Khaw explained: "We are just gearing up the logistics because it is not so straightforward; when the vaccine comes, there will be a lot of people who want the jab, so you need to organise them, so we are using these last few weeks to work out all the logistics."

- CNA/ms

Fryderyk HPH SG

HAVANA – Cuba has acknowledged its first deaths from swine flu, saying three pregnant women succumbed to the virus and many more have been treated for symptoms.

Deputy Health Minister Jose Angel Portal said a total of 2,100 pregnant women were treated for symptoms of the disease, with 110 of them seriously ill, in comments reported by the official Communist Party newspaper, Granma, on Saturday.

He said three pregnant women died of the disease, according to Granma.

The report does not say how many women remain hospitalized, nor make clear whether all of the 2,100 cases were confirmed to be H1N1.

The communist government has said it will use everything at its disposal to fight swine flu _ including calling in the armed forces _ but it has expressed deep reservations about global plans to use a vaccine, which is currently being rolled.

Cuban health officials have said that that program will be costly and could also be ineffective, since the virus could easily mutate and make any vaccine obsolete.

The article said there are now 621 confirmed cases _ including 177 children _ in the country of more than 11 million people.

Most of the early cases of swine flu were among visitors to the island, but Granma said the number of Cubans coming down with the virus was rising.

Swine flu, first identified in April, is a global epidemic. The World Health Organization says there have been more than 375,000 loboratory confirmed cases and over 4,500 deaths linked to the illness. But many countries have stopped counting individual cases.

QX179R SG

Researchers say H1N1 virus no different from seasonal flu

SINGAPORE: Researchers have uncovered more insights into the behaviour of the H1N1 strain of influenza.

On comparing the H1N1 strain of influenza and the seasonal flu, researchers said that the two flu strains affect patients with the same symptoms and body temperature at presentation.

These findings, from Tan Tock Seng Hospital, are based on studies on its first 70 H1N1 patients.

"One of the things we also realised is that for those individuals who present early, and get treatment early, they can shorten the duration of virals recovered from the nose and the throat," said Associate Professor Leo Yee Sin, clinical director, Communicable Disease Centre, Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The research team also found that some patients infected with the H1N1 strain continue to shed the infectious virus for 10 or more days after the start of infection. And they said these findings imply that it would be difficult to implement a strict containment policy for H1N1 patients.

In response to the findings, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said its strategy of fighting the virus will depend on whether it stays mild or changes to become more virulent.

The ministry also said that the proportion of patients with influenza-like illness infected with the H1N1 virus at polyclinics, GP clinics and hospitals from October 4 to 10 was 16 per cent.

Professor Leo is also working with teams from Changi General Hospital, National University Hospital and Singapore General Hospital on research that could change the way doctors treat patients suffering from the H1N1 virus. The collective team is called the "Adult Infectious Diseases Network".

One study will look at dosages of oseltamivir - the generic name for the drug Tamiflu.

"If a higher dose of Oseltamivir can give better clinical outcome, then that approach will become standard of care, which we will provide to our patients," said Professor Leo.

The study is expected to take one to two years to complete and researchers hope to recruit 90-120 adult patients suffering from severe cases of H1N1 for the study.

And there is good news for those who have recovered from H1N1 infection. Professor Leo said these patients do not need to be vaccinated against the virus because they would have built up a natural immunity to it.

The Adult Infectious Diseases Network will conduct another study that will focus on whether platelet transfusion is necessary to treat dengue fever patients.

Professor Leo will be presenting more of her findings at the Annual Science Congress on Friday.

- CNA/sc

QX179R SG

H1N1 flu vaccine to arrive within 3 weeks

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan says Singapore will be receiving the first batch of the H1N1 flu vaccine within the next three weeks.

He expects about tens of thousands of doses to be delivered in the first batch and this will kick start a mass vaccination programme here.

"For us, the main activity is to get people vaccinated as soon as the vaccine arrives. So we've been working out the logistics, where to do it. And essentially it'd be through GPs, through clinics and we'll get our supplies in batches."

As for some 4,000 Muslims making the annual Muslim haj pilgrimage, Mr Khaw said there would be enough doses for them to be vaccinated.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a multi-racial Deepavali floor party in Woodlands.

Mr Khaw noted that with the availability of the H1N1 vaccine, the second wave of the flu is now less scary.

"I think the second wave is less scary because vaccines are available so we will get our vaccines and if everybody gets vaccinated, or most people get vaccinated, and so long as the virus does not mutate to become deadly, then there's nothing to worry about."

--938Live

QX179R SG

S'pore to receive first batch of H1N1 flu vaccine in two week's time

Singapore will receive one million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine before Christmas.

And the first batch will arrive in two weeks time.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan gave this update today when he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a community event.

He also reassured Singaporeans that the supply will satisfy Singapore's immediate needs.

"I think one million is a lot of doses because judging from previous experience with seasonal flu, we've never exceeded 400,000 doses, so this is more than double. In any case, if there's a huge response for it, we can always order some more."

Mr Khaw also urged those who want to get vaccinated before Christmas to notify their general practitioners as soon as possible.

That's because the Health Ministry is currently asking the GPs to submit their orders for the vaccine.

"I'll keep about 20 percent for my frontline staff, and the rest will be distributed to the GPs, that's why we need to get from them what are their expected orders."

Mr Khaw also advised travellers to get vaccinated against the new flu strain before travelling.

--938Live

QX179R SG

H1N1 vaccine only registered for use on those 18 and above

SINGAPORE: The H1N1 vaccine will arrive in Singapore in about two weeks. But parents should take note that the drug, which is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, has not yet been cleared for use on those below 18 years old.

Doctors said it is best to play it safe because children are likely to experience different side effects from adults, due to their developing immune systems.

Dr Terence Tan, a paediatrician, said: "Furthermore, children need different doses from adults. Just because you give an adult-vaccine to a child, accepting the side effects, you may not get the benefit you want because it could very well be that the child needs more, or less, and may not get enough protection."

But the lack of a vaccine has raised concerns because children between six months and 5 years old are in the high-risk group.

While parents cannot immunise their young children against the H1N1 virus yet, what they can do is protect them against more dangerous complications, including bacterial pneumonia.

In fact, drugs such as the pneumococcal vaccine are currently widely available for young kids.

Singapore's Health Ministry has said that priority for the H1N1 vaccine will be given to the elderly and those with chronic diseases. Concerns have been raised that some may not be able to afford the jab.

Lam Pin Min, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, said: "For some families from the low-income group who may have financial difficulty in paying for the cost of the vaccine, I believe the government will step in, using Medifund to pay for such cases."

Each dose of the H1N1 vaccine is expected to cost between S$20 and S$40, comparable to the seasonal flu jab.

- CNA/so

QX179R SG

H1N1 vaccines to cost $29

H1N1 vaccines are set to cost 29 dollars at polyclinics, says the CEO of Singhealth Polyclinics Dr Tan Chee Beng.

Writing on the Health's Ministry's weblog, Dr Tan said this puts the cost of the vaccination at a price lower than Tamiflu.

Dr Tan also said the vaccination is a cost effective shield against H1N1 and added that the Ministry is already seeing increasing public interest in the vaccinations.

He said dedicated phone lines are in place to handle queries and requests to be put on the waitlist.

Dr Tan says that appointments will be set up for those on the waitlist when the clinics finally receive the vaccine.

He added that many Singaporeans are likely to travel, especially with the upcoming December holidays.

And he cautioned that influenza activity is likely to persist or increase with the onset of cold weather in the coming months.

--938Live

QX179R SG

First batch of H1N1 vaccine arrives in Singapore

SINGAPORE: The first batch of 200,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine has arrived in Singapore.

Deputy Director for the Health Ministry's Resource Management, Chua Soy Tee, revealed in his blog that the vaccines arrived from Melbourne, Australia on Thursday night.

The vaccines came in a container designed for cold chain transportation. The unpacking was done in a warehouse, where the temperature was kept between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius.

Mr Chua said the vaccines will be released once they are certified to have undergone the proper handling standards.

The ministry expects to receive the certification from the Australian pharmaceutical company and vaccine manufacturer CSL Limited on Tuesday.

- CNA/sc

QX179R SG

More than 100 thousand doses of H1N1 vaccine taken up: MOH

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan says the first batch of 200,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine should be sufficient to meet initial demand.

Writing in his Ministry's blog, he said more than half or 110 thousand doses, has been taken up by General Practitioners as well as clinics.

Another 80,000 doses will be set aside to vaccinate the first batch of essential staff.

That leaves 10 thousand doses still available for GPs and clinics.

Mr Khaw also said that a batch of 50,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline has just arrived.

Another batch of 160,000 doses of from CSL in Australia is expected to be delivered within the month.

So, Mr Khaw said there should be enough vaccines to go round for November.

One million doses will be available by Christmas.

--938Live

QX179R SG

Second batch of H1N1 flu vaccine arrives in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore has received its second batch of H1N1 flu vaccine.

The Health Ministry, in an update on its blog, says the batch of 100,000 doses from pharmaceutical company CSL will be available at clinics as early as 18 Nov, once the certification of cold chain assurance is obtained from the drug manufacturer.

Each dose is contained in a pre-filled syringe, which makes it easier for GPs to administer the drug.

The ministry received its first batch of 250,000 doses of the vaccine last month.

With the latest delivery, all 277,000 pre-orders from clinics will be met.

The ministry says that as of Friday, the order for pre-filled syringes is around 95,000 doses, of which around 40,000 doses are from clinics which are not designated as Pandemic Preparedness Clinics or flu clinics.

The ministry will also release 50,000 doses from pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline which it had repackaged into smaller quantities of 10 doses per box to make it easier for clinics to place orders.

Another batch of vaccines is expected from Melbourne over the next few days. This will be followed by weekly deliveries until all one million doses are received by mid-December.

- CNA/ir

QX179R SG

Actress Fann Wong down with H1N1

SINGAPORE: The local full—feature comedy "Happy Go Lucky" held its first day shoot ceremony on Monday without leading actress Fann Wong, who has been diagnosed as having H1N1.

Fann, who had returned on Thursday from a work trip to Hainan Island, developed flu symptoms the next day and a fever on Sunday. She was diagnosed that evening with the virus when she visited a doctor.

While the artiste rests at home, production of the movie — slated for a Chinese New Year release — is in "tremendous chaos" as a new filming schedule has to be planned, her manager told MediaCorp.

The actress has been given a 10—day medical leave. The comedy is Fann’s first movie since her September wedding to actor Christopher Lee.

— TODAY/so

QX179R SG

Two year old dies after tested positive for H1N1

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Health (MOH) is investigating the death of a two-year-old child who tested positive for H1N1.

The MOH said the child had a fever and cough on November 22. His condition worsened the next day and he was sent by an ambulance to a hospital, where he died the same day.

The boy attended a pre-school class at Lycee Français de Singapour or the French School of Singapore at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3.

As a precautionary measure, the principal of the school has decided to close the preschool classes until further notice.

The MOH is working with the school to identify if there are any H1N1 clusters among the students.

The ministry stressed the importance of maintaining high standards of personal and environmental hygiene.

If a child is unwell, parents are advised to seek medical advice and keep them at home.

Parents should ensure that their children adopt good practices such as washing hands with soap and water, especially after contact with respiratory secretions.

So far, there are 19 H1N1-related deaths in Singapore.

- CNA/ir

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