<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Be prepared if H1N1 spreads here
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Health Minister says change of tack will then be necessary </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Mavis Toh
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Singaporeans must be mentally ready for the likely spread of Influenza A (H1N1) throughout the community, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.
Thanks to containment measures and prompt reporting by the victims, it is an achievement that community spread has not occurred. But it is unlikely this situation will remain unchanged. <TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>SINGAPORE'S FIRST LOCAL CASE
Singapore's latest Influenza A (H1N1) case - the 15th - is a 39-year-old Indonesian woman who had not been abroad recently. Her niece, the 11th H1N1 case here, returned from New York last Monday.
The woman had accompanied her niece to the doctor last Tuesday when the niece developed flu symptoms. Three of the woman's household members are now on home quarantine.
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Said Mr Khaw: 'We will try very hard to contain it but we must be mentally prepared that, at some stage, there will be community spread, not just in Singapore but all over the place.'
=> Then why should the Papaya ministers deserve to be the BEST PAID in the world?
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a hospital event yesterday, Mr Khaw also said that the Ministry of Health's director of medical services, Professor K. Satku, and his team have started work to study the genome of the virus from samples taken here.
The team, comprising researchers and doctors from both the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the public health sector, was appointed late last month, just six weeks after H1N1 first hit the world's headlines.
'Now we have 14 patients so we have a lot more samples to look at,' Mr Khaw said before the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the 15th case yesterday.
The experts will correlate their findings with those from overseas and also help refine the strategy should the virus spread within the community.
The fear now is that the virus will mutate and change in the next few months when the northern winter comes, and it becomes potentially more lethal.
'That's why we should not be completely relaxed but remain vigilant, particularly at the hospitals and borders.'
Because the numbers are still small, contact tracing is able to nail down every case but once it spreads to the community, the MOH must then 'change tack'.
[COLOR=_______]'I'm prepared for clusters here, and that very soon containment won't work, and we have then to switch to mitigation,' said Mr Khaw.[/COLOR]
=> Typical cover backside first strategy!
When this happens, the focus will be on high-risk groups - the elderly, pregnant women, and those with asthma and underlying diseases.
Looking at Japan and Australia, where outbreaks occurred despite strong border checks and hygiene, it is clear the virus is hard to contain because it spreads easily, he added.
Very strong border controls, together with high personal hygiene, must thus work together. 'If one fails, the game is over,' he said.
=> But mindless FTrashisation helps?
Commenting on the 13th victim, a 23-year-old Singaporean man who was found with the virus last Friday, Mr Khaw urged Singaporeans not to travel if they are unwell.
The man had developed flu symptoms while in Melbourne. His fever was later detected by Changi Airport's thermal scanners.
One should be symptom-free for 24 hours before boarding a plane, to prevent endangering the lives of fellow passengers, he said.
'We need everyone to be top notch in being responsible and alert,' he added. 'All we need is one weak spot and the virus will be out in the community.'
=> Ah! BEST PAID ministers trying to push blame on Sporns again! *PTUI*
[email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Health Minister says change of tack will then be necessary </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Mavis Toh
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->Singaporeans must be mentally ready for the likely spread of Influenza A (H1N1) throughout the community, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said yesterday.
Thanks to containment measures and prompt reporting by the victims, it is an achievement that community spread has not occurred. But it is unlikely this situation will remain unchanged. <TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story --><STYLE type=text/css> #related .quote {background-color:#E7F7FF; padding:8px;margin:0px 0px 5px 0px;} #related .quote .headline {font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold; border-bottom:3px double #007BFF; color:#036; text-transform:uppercase; padding-bottom:5px;} #related .quote .text {font-size:11px;color:#036;padding:5px 0px;} </STYLE>SINGAPORE'S FIRST LOCAL CASE
Singapore's latest Influenza A (H1N1) case - the 15th - is a 39-year-old Indonesian woman who had not been abroad recently. Her niece, the 11th H1N1 case here, returned from New York last Monday.
The woman had accompanied her niece to the doctor last Tuesday when the niece developed flu symptoms. Three of the woman's household members are now on home quarantine.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Said Mr Khaw: 'We will try very hard to contain it but we must be mentally prepared that, at some stage, there will be community spread, not just in Singapore but all over the place.'
=> Then why should the Papaya ministers deserve to be the BEST PAID in the world?
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a hospital event yesterday, Mr Khaw also said that the Ministry of Health's director of medical services, Professor K. Satku, and his team have started work to study the genome of the virus from samples taken here.
The team, comprising researchers and doctors from both the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and the public health sector, was appointed late last month, just six weeks after H1N1 first hit the world's headlines.
'Now we have 14 patients so we have a lot more samples to look at,' Mr Khaw said before the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the 15th case yesterday.
The experts will correlate their findings with those from overseas and also help refine the strategy should the virus spread within the community.
The fear now is that the virus will mutate and change in the next few months when the northern winter comes, and it becomes potentially more lethal.
'That's why we should not be completely relaxed but remain vigilant, particularly at the hospitals and borders.'
Because the numbers are still small, contact tracing is able to nail down every case but once it spreads to the community, the MOH must then 'change tack'.
[COLOR=_______]'I'm prepared for clusters here, and that very soon containment won't work, and we have then to switch to mitigation,' said Mr Khaw.[/COLOR]
=> Typical cover backside first strategy!
When this happens, the focus will be on high-risk groups - the elderly, pregnant women, and those with asthma and underlying diseases.
Looking at Japan and Australia, where outbreaks occurred despite strong border checks and hygiene, it is clear the virus is hard to contain because it spreads easily, he added.
Very strong border controls, together with high personal hygiene, must thus work together. 'If one fails, the game is over,' he said.
=> But mindless FTrashisation helps?
Commenting on the 13th victim, a 23-year-old Singaporean man who was found with the virus last Friday, Mr Khaw urged Singaporeans not to travel if they are unwell.
The man had developed flu symptoms while in Melbourne. His fever was later detected by Changi Airport's thermal scanners.
One should be symptom-free for 24 hours before boarding a plane, to prevent endangering the lives of fellow passengers, he said.
'We need everyone to be top notch in being responsible and alert,' he added. 'All we need is one weak spot and the virus will be out in the community.'
=> Ah! BEST PAID ministers trying to push blame on Sporns again! *PTUI*
[email protected]
