On Sunday, the elderly man had gone to Tan Tock Seng Hospital's emergency department after three days of flu-like symptoms. He was immediately admitted and isolated. -- PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN
AN ELDERLY man here on Monday became the first H1N1 patient whose illness was serious enough for him to be placed in intensive care. The 63-year-old also has coronary heart disease, hypertension and other conditions.
On Sunday, he had gone to Tan Tock Seng Hospital's emergency department after three days of flu-like symptoms. He was immediately admitted and isolated. When he tested positive for the H1N1 virus, he was put on the antiviral drug Tamiflu.
He is still ill and is being monitored, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said. It added that 55 other new H1N1 cases were identified on Monday.
Among these was a 40-year-old man from the Asian Youth Games' (AYG) Indonesia contingent who developed flu-like symptoms on Thursday and was treated by the team's doctor. He sought medical attention at the AYG medical centre on Sunday, and laboratory diagnosis confirmed that he had H1N1.
He is the first non-footballer to come down with the virus at the AYG. His condition is said to be stable. Two of his close contacts, who are currently well, will be issued Home Quarantine Orders.
The current strain of H1N1 is found in 13per cent of patients who go to clinics and hospitals with influenza-like illnesses, the Ministry of Health said. 'As observed in other countries, this proportion will grow as the virus spreads further in the community and displaces other influenza strains,' a spokesman said.
For instance, the United States' Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that H1N1 was found in 98 per cent of influenza cases tested there.
MOH advises at-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions to seek prompt medical attention if they are unwell. The public can check the MOH website, at www.moh.gov.sg, for more information on the H1N1 situation.
Meanwhile, researchers in New Zealand said the virus may be at least 40 times less lethal than an earlier estimate.
The probability of dying from the pandemic flu strain may be one in 10,000 cases and possibly as low as one in 100,000, doctors at the University of Otago in Wellington found. Fatalities would be more common if the new virus mainly affected the elderly, for whom flu usually poses the greatest risk, the scientists said in a study published in the journal Eurosurveillance last week.
Please read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times
