2 more deaths bring H1N1-related fatalities in S'pore to 3

2 more deaths bring H1N1-related fatalities in S'pore to 3
Posted: 22 July 2009


SINGAPORE: Two patients died on Wednesday, bringing the total number of H1N1-related deaths in Singapore to three.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) said a 13-year-old boy, who was admitted to National University Hospital's Paediatric ICU on Sunday, died on Wednesday morning. He had epilepsy and the cause of death was due to prolonged seizures, with H1N1 as a contributing factor.

The second H1N1-related death on Wednesday was a 55-year-old man. He was admitted to Changi General Hospital's ICU last Saturday. The MOH said the cause of his death was severe pneumonia with advanced motor neuron disease and underlying H1N1.

Singapore's first H1N1-related death was a 49-year-old man with severe heart disease and multiple health problems. He died from a heart attack with H1N1 infection on July 18.

Meanwhile, one more H1N1 patient was admitted into ICU on Wednesday. She is a 42-year-old foreigner with a history of hypertension and who is overweight.

She sought treatment at Tan Tock Seng Hospital's Emergency Department, after suffering three days of shortness of breath. She was found to have low oxygen saturation and low blood pressure.

The MOH has been reminding people in the high-risk groups who develop flu-like symptoms to seek medical treatment early.

Elsewhere, a 42-year-old woman with hypertension and thyroid disease - who was admitted to Changi General Hospital's ICU on July 18 - remains in critical condition.

A 46-year-old foreigner with hypertension and kidney disease on dialysis, who was admitted to Mount Elizabeth's ICU on July 20, is in stable condition.

Also in stable condition is a 51-year-old woman with asthma. She was admitted to Tan Tock Seng Hospital's ICU on July 20.

Of the three patients in Singapore General Hospital's ICU, one has been transferred to the general ward. The other two who are still in the ICU are in stable condition.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said more people in Singapore were expected to be infected with H1N1 as the transmission peaks within the next one to two weeks.

Recent data showed that more than half of all flu cases in Singapore were H1N1 positive.

- CNA/ir

- wong chee tat :)