2 more H1N1 deaths here Singapore

TWO more people with Influenza A (H1N1) died in Singapore on Wednesday, and both had underlying medical conditions. They were a 13-year-old boy who had epilepsy, and a 55-year-old man with motor neuron disease, a nerve disorder.

That makes three H1N1 deaths here in less than a week.

The first death, last Saturday, was of a 49-year-old man who had multiple health problems including diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

The teenager who died on Wednesday had gone to the National University Hospital's emergency department on Sunday, complaining of cough and fever. He was warded. While in hospital, he went into cardio-respiratory arrest, a condition in which the heart and breathing functions cease.

The boy was then moved to the hospital's paediatric intensive care unit (ICU), but suffered prolonged epileptic seizures on Wednesday and died.

The man who died was admitted to Changi General Hospital's emergency department on Saturday after having fever and shortness of breath for two days. He had a heart attack the same day and was placed in intensive care. However, his condition worsened, he contracted severe pneumonia and died on Wednesday afternoon.

The Ministry of Health, which announced the deaths in a statement on Wednesday, did not give any other details.

There are five critically ill H1N1 patients in intensive care, including a 46-year-old foreigner whose condition has deteriorated. The woman was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital on Sunday after complaining of shortness of breath. She had had flu symptoms for a week. She was placed on a ventilator on Wednesday.

In Parliament on Monday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan warned that H1N1 cases are likely to peak over the next two weeks before tailing off.

His ministry has advised those with underlying conditions and who show flu symptoms to seek treatment early, rather than wait till their conditions worsen.

Source: straitstimes