28 May 2009
SINGAPORE: Singapore on Thursday confirmed three more cases of Influenza A (H1N1), bringing the number of infected persons in the country to four.

A day earlier, Singapore confirmed its first case of A(H1N1) flu, in a 22-year-old female Singapore Management University (SMU) student who recently returned to the city-state from New York.

The second confirmed case is a 43-year-old Singapore Permanent Resident who returned to Singapore from San Francisco via Manila on Tuesday (May 26) at 1750 hours.

She was on Singapore Airlines flight SQ 917 and was seated at 33H. She became unwell while on board.

The third confirmed case is a 28-year-old American woman working in Singapore. She returned to Singapore from Honolulu via Tokyo on Tuesday (May 26) at 2353 hours, on United Airlines flight UA 803. She was seated at 33C and became unwell on May 26.

The fourth confirmed case is a 28-year-old Singaporean man who returned to Singapore from Chicago via Hong Kong on May 25 at 0036 hours. He was on United Airlines flight UA 895 and was seated at 55H. He became unwell on May 25.

The patients are currently being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH).

In a statement, the Health Ministry said their symptoms are relatively mild and all the patients are in stable condition.

Contact tracing of their close contacts, including passengers on the same flights, is ongoing. They will be quarantined and provided with antiviral prophylaxis.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said that passengers within three rows in front and behind the cases who have not been contacted by the ministry yet should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333-9999.

The affected rows for SQ 917 are 30-36; for UA 803 are rows 30-36 and for UA 895 are rows 52-58.

The Health Ministry has reminded those who have travelled in the preceding 7 days to affected countries to seek immediate medical attention once they develop influenza-like symptoms, and call 993 for an ambulance. This, it said, will help minimise the risk of infecting those around them.

Meanwhile, the MOH has also reminded all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to continue to be vigilant for suspect cases.

Via Channelnewsasia.com

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