News opinion of 1st week

Summary of article:Singapore has confirmed its 12th case of Influenza A (H1N1). The patient is an 18-year-old Singaporean.He went to Melbourne on May 16 and returned on June 1 on Emirates EK405 at 11.50pm. He was seated at row 18.The Health Ministry said he was sent to hospital at about noon on Thursday by ambulance via 993. Laboratory results confirmed his infection at 7.25pm on the same day and he was admitted to the Communicable Disease Centre.Contact tracing has begun.As for the 10th and 11th cases, the ministry said all contacts have been accounted for. For the 10th case, two close contacts on the same flight and another two close household contacts have been identified and served Home Quarantine Orders (HQOs). The patient, a 33-year-old Singaporean female, had travelled to the US from May 23 to 30. The ministry said contact tracing for the 11th patient has also been completed, with four household contacts placed under HQOs. The ministry said since the 19-year-old American student, here to visit a relative, only developed symptoms more than 24 hours after getting off the plane, no contact tracing of flight passengers was needed. This was because she was unlikely to be infectious when on board the plane.

Opinion: I think that Singapore is actually quite safe already. If you see the past few cases, they all mainly come back from other countries, and the disease did not spread to people in Singapore. Singapore knew that the H1N1 would surely reach Singapore as when the H1N1 was found, schools were told to take temperature almost everyday. I can say that Singapore was already well prepared for this moment. To decrease the possibility of getting infected, the government put up poster near the toilets, reminding us to wash our hands the proper way and not only using water to just wash.The symptoms of this H1N1 Flu are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this new H1N1 virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting.
In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
.Fast breathing or trouble breathing
.Bluish or gray skin color
.Not drinking enough fluids
.Severe or persistent vomiting
.Not waking up or not interacting
.Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
.Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
.Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
.Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
.Sudden dizziness
.Confusion
.Severe or persistent vomiting
.Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough


If you are sick, you may be ill for a week or longer. You should stay home and avoid contact with other persons, except to seek medical care. If you leave the house to seek medical care, wear a mask or cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue. In general you should avoid contact with other people as much as possible to keep from spreading your illness. At the current time, CDC believes that this virus has the same properties in terms of spread as seasonal flu viruses. With seasonal flu, studies have shown that people may be contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to up to 7 days after they get sick. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.