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SINGAPORE: Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan has said he will not be surprised if Influenza A (H1N1) spreads within the community in Singapore.
But as symptoms of the four H1N1 cases here have been mild so far, he said that there is no cause for alarm.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health (MOH) will conduct studies to decode the virus and if data shows it behaves just like seasonal flu, Singapore will step down its flu control measures.
Mr Khaw said as the number of cases here will likely rise, Singapore would then have sufficient samples to send for analysis.
The MOH is assembling a team of health and genomic experts to study the genome of the A(H1N1) bug. This will ascertain if the virus in Singapore is the same as the one that has been spreading in North America, which has so far appeared to be rather mild.
Next, the experts will check if the virus has mutated and become more deadly.
"If it can be established scientifically that the virus remains mild here, not unlike seasonal flu, that'll give us confidence to reduce the control measures," said Mr Khaw.
Measures such as contact-tracing and home quarantine may then be unnecessary. For now, Singapore's flu alert remains at the 'yellow' level. The alert will change according to how lethal the virus becomes.
Mr Khaw said: "If you have sufficient scientific evidence to give us the confidence that this is just like seasonal flu, then it (alert level) will be 'green'. But if instead, bad luck, the virus mutates in a strange way in Singapore environment and becomes lethal, then of course it becomes 'orange'. So we will see."
He urged Singaporeans to practise good hygiene and avoid travelling to affected areas.
- CNA/ir
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