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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.
- CNA/ir
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