By Pearl Forss, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 May 2009 1455 hrs
Temperature screening at Singapore hospital with first confirmed H1N1 case SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry is trying to contact 43 people who were on the same flight as the latest three H1N1 infected persons.
The flights are United Airlines 895 which touched down in Singapore on 25 May at 0036 hrs, United Airlines 803 on 26 May at 2353 hrs, and Singapore Airlines SQ917 on 26 May at 1750 hrs.
The Health Ministry said in a statement released Friday the four patients who have been infected with Influenza A (H1N1) have relatively mild symptoms and are doing well, and are expected to recover.
All 31 of their close contacts are on home quarantine order (HQO), and are also reported to be well.
They have been given Tamiflu.
Singapore's first case – the 22-year-old female SMU student who returned from New York after a study-business trip, is into her third day of Tamiflu treatment. MOH said her fever has subsided and she is in stable condition.
All her close contacts, comprising 71 on-flight contacts and two local contacts have been accounted for.
HQOs have been served on 25 close contacts - 10 Singaporeans and 15 foreigners. Their HQOs will expire on 2 June.
The remaining 48 close contacts are not in Singapore.
With regards to the 28-year-old Singaporean male who returned from Chicago on flight United Airlines 895 on 25 May at 0036 hrs, the Health Ministry said that apart from his two visits to the clinic and to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, he remained at home the entire period after arriving back in Singapore.
His only close contact – his wife – has been placed under HQO until 2 June.
HQOs have also been served to two close contacts of the 28-year-old American female expatriate who returned from Honolulu, confirmed as the third H1N1 case in Singapore.
She was on flight United Airlines 803 via Tokyo on 26 May at 2353 hrs.
Her friend and her maid have been placed under home quarantine until 3 June.
Finally, three HQOs have also been served to close contacts of the 43-year-old female Singapore Permanent Resident who returned from San Francisco.
She was on Singapore Airlines SQ917 on 26 May at 1750 hrs via Manila.
The HQOs were served to her friend and two office colleagues, expiring 3 June.
The Health Ministry said contact tracing for all the close contacts of the latest three confirmed cases (the 28-year-old male and female, and 43-year-old female) is still in progress.
So far, 122 passengers on the three flights who are close contacts of the latest three confirmed cases have been identified.
Only 61 of those passengers entered Singapore.
The MOH said it has managed to contact 18 of them and HQOs will be served to them.
The Ministry also said passengers within the first three and back rows of the cases who have not been contacted yet should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333 9999 to enable the Ministry to check on their health condition expeditiously.
The affected rows for SQ917 on 26 May are 30-36; rows 30-36 for UA803 on 26 May, and rows 52-58 for UA895 on 25 May.
- CNA/yb
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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