H1N1 cases up 56 to 1,111 in Singapore
Channel NewsAsia 06 July 2009

SINGAPORE: Singapore has confirmed 56 new cases of H1N1 flu, bringing the total tally to 1,111 confirmed cases.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement that investigations are ongoing for 31 cases. Of the 77 cases investigated on Monday, there were 59 local cases and 18 imported ones.

Of the total 1,080 cases investigated so far, 650 were local cases and 430 were imported ones.

Of the 56 new confirmed cases, almost all were mild, although there were two notable cases.

A 63-year-old man sought emergency treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Emergency Department on Sunday, after three days of flu-like symptoms. He was immediately admitted and isolated for treatment of several complications, including pneumonia and heart disease.

Laboratory diagnosis confirmed that he was also infected with H1N1 and he was started on Tamiflu that night.

As he has multiple co-morbidities (coronary heart disease, hypertension, hyperlipideamia), he was transferred to ICU on Monday morning. He remains ill, and is being monitored closely.

The other case involves a 40-year-old Indonesian man from the Asian Youth Games (AYG) Indonesian contingent, who developed flu-like symptoms on July 2. He was treated symptomatically by the Indonesian team's doctor.

He sought medical attention again on July 5 at the AYG Medical Centre and laboratory diagnosis confirmed that he was infected with H1N1. The MOH said he is in stable condition.

Two close contacts of this case will be issued home quarantine orders, but are currently well.

MOH said it conducts routine bio-surveillance on samples of patients presented with influenza-like illness in its clinics and hospitals. Latest data showed that 13 per cent of samples taken from patients with such illnesses are positive for H1N1.

This means that 13 in 100 patients with influenza-like illness have H1N1. MOH said that this proportion will grow as the virus spreads further in the community, and displaces other influenza strains.

The ministry also said the current strain remains mild, except for high-risk individuals with underlying medical conditions where complications and even deaths may occur.

At-risk individuals are advised to seek prompt medical attention if unwell.

Potter actor gets H1N1 flu in Britain
Channel News Asia- 05 July 2009

LONDON - Actor Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films, has contracted H1N1 flu, his publicist said Saturday, three days before the latest Potter blockbuster premieres in London.

Grint took several days off filming the next movie in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", but is still expected to join co-stars on the red carpet for the launch of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Tuesday.

"It has just been confirmed that Rupert Grint has taken a few days out of filming due to a mild bout of H1N1 flu," his publicist said in a statement.

"He has now recovered and is looking forward to joining his fellow cast members at the junket and premieres this week and will then return to filming directly afterwards."

She added that filming was not disrupted by the 20-year-old's absence.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opens in most of Europe on July 15 and in the United States and Japan two days later.

Four people have died in Britain of H1N1 flu, the A(H1N1) virus, and the country has Europe's highest number of reported cases with nearly 7,500.

The government warned this week that figure could rise to over 100,000 new cases a day by the end of August.

- AFP /ls

Labels: Potter actor gets H1N1 flu in Britain

Some businesses see drop in customers due to H1N1 concerns
Channel NewsAsia- 02 July 2009 2059 hrs

SINGAPORE: The H1N1 flu virus has taken a toll on some businesses, especially those which require staff to come in close contact with customers.

Business at some massage parlours has gone down by between 20 and 30 per cent. As the number of H1N1 flu cases rises, it seems a massage is the last thing on people's minds.

Costs have also gone up, as operators stock up on disinfectants. Some operators are also turning away customers who show symptoms of the flu.

However, taxi drivers say they cannot afford to be picky. And despite worries of infection, they would rather not wear masks to avoid alarming passengers.

Secretary of TransCab Operators' Association, Patrick Teo said: "We will try to protect the customers - to clean up the car, especially the handles, the interiors... After the customer (alights from the taxi), we make sure we wind down the windows."

SINGAPORE:

Singapore has confirmed 82 new cases of H1N1 flu, bringing the total to 783 so far. Most are local cases.
Three hundred patients have fully recovered, while the rest are in stable condition.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) said it is making the transition to the mitigation phase, so those with flu—like symptoms may see polyclinic or pandemic preparedness clinic doctors, who will make a preliminary assessment. They need not call 993 for the special ambulance.
Only severely ill or high—risk patients will be tested for the H1N1 flu virus, and hospitalised if needed. Those with mild symptoms may be sent home and if necessary, prescribed anti—viral drugs.
The ministry said doctors will take into account patients’ risk of developing influenza—related complications, prevalence of H1N1 flu in the community and weigh the risks and benefits of treatment.
Depending on the severity of patients’ illness and other risk factors, they may be referred to the hospital for further management. Hospitals will increasingly focus on managing more complex cases.
In this transition stage, MOH said hospitals have used their clinical discretion to selectively test patients for H1N1 flu only when required for clinical management (eg. severely ill patients) and/or in situations where it will be of significant public health importance.
Cases that are assessed to be very mild are not hospitalised but placed on home quarantine orders.
The ministry said H1N1 flu testing is not necessary before treatment is starts and there is no need for GPs to send all suspected cases to hospital for testing.
— CNA/yt