6th H1N1 death in Singapore & spike in number of ICU admissions

From our Correspondent

Singapore has its 6th H1N1-related death today. According to a MOH press release, she is a 29-year-old Indian female with no other known underlying medical conditions other than being overweight.

She passed away this morning and the cause of death is pneumonia with renal failure, with Influenza A (H1N1-2009) infection as a contributing factor.

The five previous cases had co-morbidities such as epilepsy and chronic renal failure.

This week also saw a spike in the number of hospital and ICU admissions. As of Friday, there were 111 H1N1 patients in hospitals, with nine in intensive care.

H1N1, a subtype of the influenza A virus, was thought initially to be relatively benign in healthy adults.

Latest data shows that 53% of samples taken from patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) are Influenza A (H1N1-2009)-positive.

This means that about 1 in 2 patients with ILI have Influenza A (H1N1-2009). As observed in other countries, this proportion will grow as the virus spreads further in the community, and displaces other influenza strains.

Under the latest MOH clinical advisory for doctors, suspected H1N1 patients are no longer referred to hospitals unless they developed complications.

Tamiflu, which is known to be effective against the virus, is recommended for the elderly, children and pregnant women.

The latest death suggests that H1N1 may be more virulent than previously thought and the possibility of a mutation rendering the virus more dangerous cannot be excluded at this stage.

Singaporeans are advised to consult the doctor earlier if they experience flu-like symptoms with or without fever.