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SINGAPORE : About half of the confirmed H1N1 flu cases in Singapore involve young people below the age of 20.
At KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), the average age of a patient is 10 years old, with the youngest being just 14 months.
18-year-old Audrey Woon fits the statistics. She is under 20, healthy, and when she was confirmed as an H1N1 flu patient, all she had were, in her words, normal flu symptoms.
She said: "I lost my voice completely, my throat was really throbbing, I had very high fever, I was coughing, I had chills, but that was it..."
Audrey is one of the growing number of local H1N1 flu cases. She did not have any travel history or contact with other imported cases.
Doctors said one reason why young people seem to be more easily infected is because they have a higher virus attack rate.
Dr Chong Chia Yin, senior consultant, Infectious Diseases, KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), said: "Children have a higher attack rate because they have no underlying immunity to the virus, and also because children do not practise good hygiene most of the time.
"They may cough, they may sneeze and they won't even remember to cover their mouth and nose. That means there are children who will more likely have symptomatic disease. That means it will actually manifest as fever, cough, runny nose...
"So the incidence of the disease in younger children is actually higher, but the complicated disease is usually in the elderly, (above) 65, and also in the very young who are less than 2 years of age."
KKH has admitted 111 patients, including 94 children. The good news is that all are recovering well.
Dr Chong said: "Most patients would fully recover from the H1N1 virus. They will be out of the hospital in eight days or so."
Only two children had complications, but have since recovered. One patient had pneumonia and another had exacerbation of asthma. The virus is considered serious if the child develops respiratory problems, such as fast breathing, vomiting and dehydration.
Doctors said parents should not be unduly worried, but those with children in the high risk group, such as asthmatics, should be extra cautious.
Dr Chong said: "They should keep their asthma under control, so if they are supposed to be on preventers because they have moderate or persistent asthma, then they must make sure that they are compliant to the preventers."
And since the time lag between testing and confirmation of H1N1 flu could take a while, suspected H1N1 flu cases should not mix around freely within the community.
Dr Chong said: "If the child is ill, having cough, fever, runny nose, stay away from school, stay indoors at home. So do not go around spreading the virus to other children. Practise good hygiene and make sure you do have a balanced diet and have enough sleep."
While parents are concerned about the spread of H1N1 flu in the community, they are taking it in their stride.
One parent said: "Just avoid going to crowded places and drink more water."
Another said: "I am just taking whatever precautions the schools and the hospitals advise... I just follow up on it."
Suspected H1N1 flu cases are tested in white tents outside the KKH Children's Emergency Department. Patients are then sent to more comfortable isolation rooms to wait for the test results, which could take about 12 hours. - CNA/ms
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