Thursday, May 28, 2009

Singapore confirms three more H1N1 flu cases

Posted: 28 May 2009 2101 hrs
090528-2101hrs 
 Communicable Diseases Centre at Tan Tock Seng hospital in Singapore

SINGAPORE: Singapore on Thursday confirmed three more cases of Influenza A (H1N1), bringing the number of infected persons in the country to four.

A day earlier, Singapore confirmed its first case of A(H1N1) flu, in a 22-year-old female Singapore Management University (SMU) student who recently returned to the city-state from New York.

The second confirmed case is a 43-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident who returned to Singapore from San Francisco via Manila on Tuesday (26 May) at 1750 hours.

She was on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 917 and was seated at 33H. She became unwell while on board.

The third confirmed case is a 28-year-old American woman working in Singapore. She returned to Singapore from Honolulu via Tokyo on Tuesday (26 May) at 2353 hours, on United Airlines flight UA 803. She was seated at 33C and became unwell on 26 May.

The fourth confirmed case is a 28-year-old Singaporean man who returned to Singapore from Chicago via Hong Kong on 25 May at 0036hrs. He was on United Airlines flight UA 895 and was seated at 55H. He became unwell on 25 May.

The patients are currently being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

In a statement, the Health Ministry says their symptoms are relatively mild and all the patients are in stable condition.

Contact tracing of their close contacts, including passengers on the same flights, is ongoing. They will be quarantined and provided with antiviral prophylaxis.

The Health Ministry says that passengers within three rows in front and behind the cases who have not been contacted by MOH yet should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333 9999.

The affected rows for SQ 917 are 30-36; for UA 803, the affected rows are 30-36 and for UA 895, the affected rows are 52-58.

The Health Ministry reminds those who have travelled in the preceding 7 days to affected countries to seek immediate medical attention once they develop influenza-like symptoms, and call 993 for an ambulance. This, it says, will help minimise the risk of infecting those around them.

Meanwhile, the MOH has also reminded all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to continue to be vigilant for suspect cases.

- CNA/ir

From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.

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