A health official taking the temperatures of passengers on a plane from Germany. In Singapore, the Health Ministry's contact tracing system has identified 122 passengers on the three flights of the latest three confirmed cases -- PHOTO: AFP
THE risk of A(H1N1) flu spreading in the Singapore community has risen, with the outbreak of four cases so far, but there is no need to worry as long as the strain remains mild, said Health Minister on Friday.
But Mr Khaw Boon Wan said even as community transmission is inevitable, there is no need to raise the alert level here, which is currently at Yellow, unless the virus strain becomes more virulent and claims more lives.
Giving an update to the media on the Singapore flu situation, he told reporters on Friday: 'The key point is the nature of the virus. Is the virus lethal, or like ordinary influenza?
'The focus should no longer be on the numbers. To me, the numbers are academic.'
Mr Khaw said a team of scientists from the public health sector and the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) is being assembled here to sound any warning.
Headed by the Health Ministry's director of medical services K. Satku, it will study viral samples taken from patients here to see if they match those overseas or have mutated. It will then track these local viral samples over time for mutations.
Mr Khaw said: 'If at the end of this scientific study, we can confirm that indeed, this H1N1 is behaving just like any other seasonal flu, then we can seriously consider lowering many of the control measures that we have put in place, such as contact tracing and home quarantine orders.'
So far, Singapore has four confirmed H1N1 flu cases involving three Singaporeans - a 22-year-old student, a 28-year-old man, a 43-year-old woman and a 28-year-old American woman expatriate.
The Health Ministry's contact tracing system has identified 122 passengers on the three flights of the latest three confirmed cases.
Only half of these passengers - 61 - entered Singapore and the authorities had been in touch with 18 of them, said a ministry statement on Friday.
They will be served the home quarantine orders (HQO). Contact tracing for the rest is still in progress, said the ministry.
By 11am on Friday, 31 HQOs had been served to close contacts of the four H1N1 confirmed cases here.
The four arrived in Singapore on different flights from the United States over the last few days. They are currently being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre. The ministry said they have relatively mild symptoms and are doing well.
All their close contacts on HQO are also reported to be well and have been given Tamiflu as preventive measure.
