Influenza A (H1N1) Latest News Updates
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seriously i cannot stand those people ill then keep on going around socialising, keep thinking they not h1n1 or coughing and sneezing like a normal flu dont cover mouth etc..
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Originally posted by Nihon natsu2005:
seriously i cannot stand those people ill then keep on going around socialising, keep thinking they not h1n1 or coughing and sneezing like a normal flu dont cover mouth etc..
This flu is so contagious.Whenever I cough or sneeze i should cover your nose and mouth instead>LOL -
*Ah-choo!*
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106 new H1N1 cases bring total to 1,217 in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Singapore has confirmed 106 new cases of H1N1 flu, bringing the total to 1,217 so far.
The Health Ministry said of the 1,140 cases investigated so far, 702 were local cases and 438 were imported.
Investigations are on-going for 77 cases.--CNA
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MOH announces changes to H1N1 tracking measures
SINGAPORE: As Singapore moves gradually towards the full mitigation phase, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has made more changes to its H1N1 tracking measures.
General practitioners will continue to refer those in high-risk groups - pregnant women and those with health complications - for H1N1 testing.
But contact tracing will be stepped down and Home Quarantine Orders (HQOs) will generally not be issued, except to patients deemed to be a risk to the community.
This could include patients who are in close contact with people in high-risk groups. The MOH said HQOs can be "initiated under special situations, based on risk assessment by public health specialists".
It said these changes are part of its shift towards the full mitigation phase under which it plans to focus on high-risk patients.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said countries no longer need to submit reports on laboratory confirmed cases. The WHO will also not be reporting the number of confirmed cases in each country.
In response, MOH said it will be removing its list of affected countries from its website. It will also stop issuing daily updates on the number of new cases. Instead, it will only report the number of confirmed cases in hospitals.
As of Tuesday, 85 were still warded at six public hospitals and the Communicable Disease Centre.
The ministry said it will continue its influenza biosurveillance and report its findings regularly.
Routine laboratory tests on random virus samples are taken from patients in the clinics and hospitals to determine the circulating influenza strains. Latest data showed that 13 per cent of patients with flu-like symptoms are due to the H1N1 flu.
Doctors said patients have been adjusting well to the gradual changes.
Dr Lee Vik Voon, executive director of Singapore Medical Association, said: "They have been compliant with the treatment that we've prescribed. And up till now, we have not received any reports of unreasonable requests for Tamiflu."
To allay public concerns over H1N1 risks while on the move, the Land Transport Authority, public transport operators and taxi companies have put in place precautionary measures.
These include improving the ventilation of trains, buses and taxis, stepped-up cleaning and daily temperature screening of staff.
- CNA/ir -
Second patient in intensive care after contracting H1N1
SINGAPORE: A second H1N1 flu patient in Singapore is in critical condition due to complications.
The Health Ministry said the 51-year-old man, who also suffers from diabetes and hypertension, is in intensive care at Changi General Hospital.
His family sent him to the hospital after he had flu-like symptoms for four days. Laboratory tests later confirmed that he had contracted the H1N1 flu.
An earlier patient who was admitted to Tan Tock Seng's intensive care unit on Monday has been transferred to a general ward. MOH said the 63-year-old patient's condition has stabilised.
Meanwhile, the Taxi Operators Association said that while no taxi driver in Singapore has been confirmed with H1N1 yet, it is putting in place provisions as a precaution.
Affected drivers will be able to claim a daily subsidy of S$30 for up to seven days, medical expenses and taxi rentals.
The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is also setting aside S$650,000 from its U Care fund to provide short-term relief for affected drivers.
This aid package will also allow affected drivers to return their vehicles to taxi operators to save on rent while ill. Temporary drivers can also be arranged to take over the vehicles.
Foo Chi Yong, president of Premier Taxi Operators' Association, said: "We always tell our members to see doctors (if they are ill). But according to feedback, they are very reluctant to go because they're worried about their (taxi) rental and their loss of income."
"Now, with this package to help them to cushion" the loss, he said more will be considerate enough to go and see a doctor if they are ill.
- CNA/ir -
S'pore to stop temperature screening at border checkpoints from July 11
SINGAPORE: From Saturday, Singapore will stop temperature screenings at all border checkpoints.
The Health and Home Affairs Ministries said in a joint statement on Friday that temperature screening at the borders is now less useful as the H1N1 flu virus has become endemic among global communities, and with localised community spread in Singapore.
In the initial phase of the H1N1 outbreak, temperature screening was implemented at the border checkpoints to contain the spread of the virus into the community.
Latest figures show that there are currently 60 confirmed H1N1 cases in public hospitals.
This includes a 51-year-old man, with diabetes and hypertension, who is in Changi General Hospital's Intensive Care Unit.
The greatest number of cases - 29 - is currently warded at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
- CNA/yb -
Originally posted by QX179R:
S'pore to stop temperature screening at border checkpoints from July 11
SINGAPORE: From Saturday, Singapore will stop temperature screenings at all border checkpoints.
The Health and Home Affairs Ministries said in a joint statement on Friday that temperature screening at the borders is now less useful as the H1N1 flu virus has become endemic among global communities, and with localised community spread in Singapore.
In the initial phase of the H1N1 outbreak, temperature screening was implemented at the border checkpoints to contain the spread of the virus into the community.
Latest figures show that there are currently 60 confirmed H1N1 cases in public hospitals.
This includes a 51-year-old man, with diabetes and hypertension, who is in Changi General Hospital's Intensive Care Unit.
The greatest number of cases - 29 - is currently warded at KK Women's and Children's Hospital.
- CNA/ybheard it at channel 8 news.
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70 H1N1 cases in hospital; 1 remains in ICU
The Health Ministry says there are 70 confirmed H1N1 flu cases in hospitals, including 1 patient in the Intensive Care Unit.
The patient in the ICU is a 51-year-old man with multiple underlying medical conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.
The Health Ministry says the man sought treatment at the Changi General Hospital's Emergency Department after 4 days of flu-like symptoms.
The man is said to be in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, a 63-year-old patient who was previously in the ICU has since stablised.
MOH says the patient was transferred to the general ward yesterday.
--938Live
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if swine flu wasn't enough, now there's swine ebola!!
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Health Minister says S'pore is in last leg of battle against H1N1
SINGAPORE: Singapore's Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Saturday said the nation is in the final leg of its battle against the H1N1 flu virus.
He said Singaporeans have fought off the virus well by being well-informed and complying with precautionary measures.
Mr Khaw said studies have shown that the virus seems to be getting weaker as time goes by.
However, he stressed that there is still a chance it may mutate and get deadlier.
The Minister also said there are bound to be complicated cases, with some possibly resulting in death.
Speaking at a health event, Mr Khaw highlighted the priorities his Ministry is now focusing on, besides high risk groups.
Said Minister Khaw: "We're taking a pause and reflecting on what have we learnt in the last three months, what are the lessons. So we're doing a post mortem on how we have reacted to this first wave, to learn from it, where can we do better? (Another priority) is to prepare for the next wave. Of course we hope there's no next wave, but we can't tell."
As of Friday, there were 60 H1N1 flu cases in hospital, including one in intensive care.
- 938Live -
Schools to resume CCA programmes next week with H1N1 precautions
SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Education said schools will resume co-curricular activities (CCAs) next week.
It said schools will also take precautions such as temperature-taking and visual screening for flu-like symptoms at the start of sessions.
The ministry said some schools have already resumed CCAs to allow students to train for sports meets or to prepare for the upcoming Singapore Youth Festival.
Life is almost back to normal at Rulang Primary, except that students still have to go through mandatory temperature checks. All co-curricular activities have resumed after being suspended for the last two weeks as an H1N1 precaution.
Low Min Chye, vice principal, Rulang Primary School, said: "CCAs are an important part of our school curriculum. So this is the reason why we decided to resume, but measures are taken such as CCA groups are kept to a small group and very importantly the pupils are kept together for a maximum of 45 minutes."
Besides this, Channel NewsAsia understands that ministry guidelines also state that where possible, students should avoid close contact and be at least two metres apart.
As a precaution, at least one secondary school is known to have stopped one-on-one counselling sessions to minimise close contact.
Over at Republic Polytechnic, a rule restricting students to certain canteens has left some students disgruntled. So the school has decided to ease up a little on that ruling, but said it is in a unique situation where being over-cautious is important.
Ang Keng Loo, senior director, Student Affairs, said: "We don't have a lecture theatre system where everybody sits there and listens. We have groups of students discussing actively throughout the whole day and the amount of interaction they go through, should there be a person who is infected in that group, the transmission is almost like 100 per cent."
One of the reasons for Republic Polytechnic's stricter rules is because of the initial rapid spread of the H1N1 virus among students. 105 students have been infected so far. 97 have recovered.
Latest figures from the Health Ministry show that there are currently 49 H1N1 patients in Singapore hospitals, including a 51-year-old man with diabetes and hypertension in intensive care.- CNA/vm
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46 H1N1 patients in hospital, one still in ICU
SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry says there are currently 46 confirmed H1N1 cases in hospital.
Fifteen of them are warded at the National University Hospital, while 11 are at Changi General Hospital.
They include a 51-year-old man with diabetes and hypertension who is warded at Changi General Hospital's Intensive Care Unit. He was previously in a critical condition but is now stable.
- CNA/ir -
Fully licensed H1N1 flu vaccine not available till end of the year: WHO
The World Health Organization says a fully licensed H1N1 flu vaccine will not be available until the end of the year.
And this will impact many countries' vaccination plans.
A fully licensed vaccine requires thorough and conclusive testing.
H1N1 flu vaccines are expected to be available for clinical trials in the next couple of months.
But this will take even more time, as each country's regulatory authority must vet them for safety issues.
However, Ms Kieny says countries can use emergency provisions to get the vaccines out faster, if they decide their populations need them.
This could mean using preliminary information to determine whether a vaccine is safe to use.
But she warned that in this scenario, it will be key to increase post-marketing surveillance to detect potential side effects.
--938Live
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Two more patients in intensive care after contracting H1N1
SINGAPORE: Two more patients are now under intensive care after contracting H1N1.
The first is a 45-year-old woman with multiple health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. She was also on immunosuppressants due to a kidney transplant in 2006.
She had sought treatment at the Singapore General Hospital's emergency department on July 4 after two days of vomiting and diarrhoea, and is now in critical condition.
The second patient is a 22-year-old woman who is 24 weeks pregnant. She was admitted to KK Women's and Children's Hospital on Monday after she developed pneumonia and was tested positive for H1N1 at a private hospital.
On Tuesday, she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for closer monitoring as her requirement for oxygen had increased. She has no underlying medical conditions.
There are 48 other H1N1 patients warded at various public hospitals, including a 51-year-old patient with diabetes and hypertension. The latter is in a stable condition at Changi General Hospital's ICU.
- CNA/so -
Critically-ill H1N1 patient home
SINGAPORE'S first critically-ill Influenza A (H1N1) patient has been discharged from hospital and wants to make sure he remains healthy.
Part-time cleaner Omar Mohamed Salleh, 63, ended his seven-day stay at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) on Saturday evening.
When The Straits Times visited Mr Omar at his Woodlands home on Tuesday, he was cracking jokes, while his wife and son teased him fondly. A far cry from just a week ago when the mood was sombre, his worried family members pacing the hospital floors.
--ST
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Now MOH don't keep track on the number of cases.... too many?
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H1N1 patient in critical condition
A 49 year-old man who tested positive for Influenza A H1N1 today is currently in critical condition.
He was admitted to ICU after seeking treatment at the Changi General Hospital this morning.
A Health Ministry statement said the patient developed flu-like symptoms 4 days ago, including severe pneumonia.
In addition, he has a history of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.
Also in ICU are two other female H1N1 patients.
However, both are in stable condition.
There are 36 confirmed H1N1 cases in hospitals today.--938Live
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44 confirmed H1N1 flu cases in hospitals, including 3 in ICU
SINGAPORE : There are now 44 confirmed H1N1 flu cases in hospitals in Singapore, including three in intensive care.
The 49-year-old male patient with multiple health problems, who was admitted to the Changi General Hospital's intensive care unit (ICU) on Thursday, is in a critical but stable condition, according to the Health Ministry.
The other two female patients at Singapore General Hospital and KK Women's and Children's Hospital, including a 22-year-old pregnant woman, are still in ICU.
Both are stable.- CNA/ms
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Finally, the numbers are dropping.
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Swine Flu: Is Another "Wave" Still Ahead?
Swine Flu: Is Another "Wave" Still Ahead?-- The Return of the Swine Flu: If one is to look at the swine flu's (or H1N1) initial onset, it could be interpreted as wave 1. Then came the "perceived relief" that the threat was overblown, as wave 2. Now the numbers of infections and deaths are rising, the World Health Organization proclaimed a pandemic and is stating a "deep concern for a mutation and a large number of infections in the U.S. as we enter the fall's normal flu season." Socionomically speaking, are we at the doorstep of wave 3 for this social health emergency?Responder: The Socionomics Institute. Date: 7/16/2009-- The 1918 flu, or Spanish flu epidemic, did unfold in three "waves," as Jeffrey Taubenberger noted in "The Mother of All Pandemics." Swine flu could accelerate, but based on the conclusions of our recent historic two-part study "A Socionomic View of Epidemic Disease," we at the Socionomics Institute think it's more likely that a worse epidemic will erupt near or just after the ultimate bottom of the current bear market.1918 Influenza Pandemic | CDC EIDTaubenberger JK, Morens DM. 1918 influenza: the mother of all pandemics. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2006 Jan [date cited]. ...
Figure 1. Three pandemic waves: weekly combined influenza and pneumonia mortality, United Kingdom, 1918–1919. -
Singapore confirms first H1N1-related death
SINGAPORE: A 49-year-old H1N1 patient, with multiple health problems, died on Saturday afternoon. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement that he died of a heart attack, contributed by severe pneumonia and H1N1 infection.
The victim, who had diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, was admitted to Changi General Hospital on July 16 after four days of flu-like symptoms.
MOH added that a 55-year-old man, also with multiple health problems, is the latest H1N1 patient to be admitted to intensive care.
He was tested positive for H1N1 after being admitted into Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) intensive care unit.
He went to SGH on July 17, complaining of shortness of breath and fever, and was admitted after investigations showed that he had suffered an acute heart attack. The patient is currently in stable condition.
MOH said while the majority of H1N1 cases remains mild, the virus can cause complications and even death in high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions.
Individuals in the high-risk group are advised to seek prompt medical attention if they suffer flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat and runny nose.
Members of the public who develop influenza-like illness can visit their nearest Pandemic Preparedness Clinic or their GP clinics for initial assessment and treatment.
If symptoms are severe, such as breathlessness and chest pains, members of the public are advised to call 995 immediately for an emergency ambulance.
- CNA/so -
1st death, hope the situation don't worsen.
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Bodies of H1N1 victims to be buried or cremated within 7 days
SINGAPORE: The Health Ministry has called on all approved undertakers to handle with care the bodies of those who died from the H1N1 virus.
Funeral wakes can only be held within seven days for embalmed bodies. Non-embalmed ones have to buried or cremated within three days.
Loved ones are also not to touch the bodies, even though the chances of contracting the virus that way is low.
Undertakers have also been told to avoid all direct contact with blood or other fluids from the bodies.
Undertakers who have open wounds or skin infections are not to handle the body.
Families have to wear masks when claiming the bodies and performing religious rites.
Coffins of embalmed bodies have to be sealed at all times.
Families and friends must also wash their hands with soap after viewing.
Funeral service providers said these measures are relatively milder compared to those who died from SARS, when their bodies had to be cremated almost immediately.
- CNA/yb -
got ppl die from it alr? i din know that...