By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 01 June 2009 2154 hrs
H1N1 screening by Tan Tock Seng Hospital staff SINGAPORE: Singapore has confirmed two more cases of H1N1 flu, bringing the total so far to seven.
Patient number six is a 36-year-old Singaporean man who returned from Manila last Friday on Singapore Airlines SQ917 at 5.50pm. He was seated at row 17.
The Ministry of Health (MOH), which is reviewing the case, suspected that he may have caught the virus from another passenger as his symptoms only appeared a day after his flight.
Patient number seven is a 30-year-old Australian tourist who had travelled to Chicago, Detroit and New York in the past two weeks, between May 14 and 30.
He flew in from New York via Frankfurt on SQ25 at 6.18am on Monday and was seated at row 54.
MOH said their symptoms are relatively mild and it is now trying to get in touch with close contacts of the Australian tourist.
Those who have yet to be contacted by the ministry should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333-9999.
As more cases are discovered, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, which carries out all screenings, has created a separate temporary facility at the nearby Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) to process all suspected patients, who will be separated according to their recent travel history.
Patients who have flu-like symptoms, but have not been to high-risk areas like Canada, United States and Mexico or relatively low-risk areas like Japan, Spain and United Kingdom, will be screened at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Emergency Department decontamination unit.
The whole testing process at the new facility will take about 12 hours. But with up to 100 patients waiting in the same area, what are the chances of catching the virus from someone else?
Christopher Soh, nurse manager, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said: "I would say it's much safer in here rather than out in the streets or shopping centres. We have several protocols in place to keep the patients here safe.
"Example, all patients coming to us are issued masks so that they are protected. Secondly, all patients are spaced out two metres apart, away from each other."
A well-ventilated area also reduces the spread of the virus.
Those who are tested positive will be admitted to the CDC's SARS Wing, also known as CDC 2. The building can admit up to 50 patients, but more space can be made available at CDC 1, if needed.
MOH is also reviewing its control measures to deal with the H1N1 situation in Singapore. It has set up a National Scientific Committee, which will study the local cases and make recommendations on treatment guidelines.
The committee will also analyse the genome of the virus and compare it with international data. Serial tracking of the virus will also be carried out to look for mutations and to assess the potential impact of the mutations on clinical disease.
The ministry said information gathered will help establish scientifically if the new virus strain could turn out to be like the seasonal flu in terms of its impact on public health.
Authorities could then adapt their containment measures, which currently involve contact tracing and the hospitalisation of every case, to focus on the treatment of at-risk groups and those who are seriously ill.
The committee will be chaired by MOH's director of Medical Services, Professor K Satku. - CNA/so
From ChannelNewsAsia.com; see the source article here.
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