Woman fourth Singapore H1N1 fatality

[Chuck]

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/33283-woman-fourth-singapore-h1n1-fatality

Woman fourth Singapore H1N1 fatality


SINGAPORE, July 24 ? A 42-year-old Chinese woman today became the fourth person in Singapore to die from H1N1.

The woman who had hypertension and thyroid problems died this morning at the Changi General Hospital (CGH), according to the Health Ministry on its latest update on the swine flu.

The ministry said she sought medical treatment at CGH's Emergency Department on July 18 after five days of fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath. She was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit on the same day.

The cause of death was pneumonia, with Influenza A H1N1 infection as a contributing factor, the ministry said.

Two Singaporeans, including a 13-year-old boy died this week and another last week from the swine flu. ? Bernama

 

[Chuck]

Re: Woman fourth Singapore H1N1 fatality

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_407814.html

Fourth H1N1-related death
Woman had thyroid disease; two people with no risk factors critically ill
By Jessica Jaganathan & Teh Joo Lin


A FOURTH patient has died in Singapore after developing complications from Influenza A (H1N1). The 42-year-old Chinese Singaporean woman died of pneumonia, with H1N1 as a contributing factor, said the Ministry of Health on Friday.

She went to Changi General Hospital's (CGH) emergency department last Saturday after having had a fever, a cough, a sore throat and shortness of breath for five days. She was moved to intensive care that day but died on Friday morning. Earlier, the ministry had said she had thyroid disease and hypertension, but it has since clarified that she suffered only from the former.

At her wake in Sengkang last night, her husband said her thyroid condition had been under control for two years, and she had not needed medication. 'She was in fine health. That's why it is a total surprise,' the man, who declined to be named, said.

Before she was warded last week, the woman, who had a 12-year-old son, had seen doctors thrice in five days to treat flu-like symptoms, including a fever. She went to a general practitioner's clinic on July 14. The next day, she sought a second opinion at another clinic.

Last Saturday, she visited the second clinic again. This time, the doctor told her she might have a lung infection and advised her to go to the hospital. She was nursing a fever of 38.6 deg C at the time, said her 51-year-old brother-in-law, who drove her to CGH.

He said that sometime after 11pm that day, she was 'still conscious and could still talk'. 'She could even pick up the phone to call her husband and call us.' But just a few hours later, her situation suddenly worsened. She was wheeled into intensive care the next day.

Singapore's four H1N1-related deaths have occurred within the space of a week. The first came last Saturday, when a 49-year-old man who had multiple health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol died. On Wednesday, two others died - a 13-year-old boy with epilepsy and a 55-year-old man with motor neuron disease.

When asked if these deaths in such a short span were cause for alarm, the Health Ministry noted that 600 people a year die from seasonal flu in Singapore.

Experience elsewhere has shown that fatalities will rise as more people get infected, and Singaporeans should be mentally prepared to see a similar pattern here, the ministry said. It added: 'Our best chance to reduce the adverse effects of the pandemic is to continue to be socially responsible to reduce the disease transmission and seek early medical treatment if unwell.'

Meanwhile, two people in their 20s with no known risk factors have fallen critically ill after testing positive for the virus. They are the first seriously ill patients who do not fall into the high-risk category of those with underlying illnesses, who are pregnant or who have low immunity. Both are in intensive care, with low levels of oxygen in their blood. Of the 94 H1NI patients now in hospital, five are critically ill.

jessicaj@sph.com.sg

joolin@sph.com.sg