30 Jan 2011
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77-year-old man dies four days after being hospitalised for lung infection
A 77-year-old man died from H1N1 influenza virus infection on Jan 19 – the first reported case in Singapore this year.
Mr Mohd Lazim Kalang was admitted to Singapore General Hospital on Jan 15 after his children saw that he had a high fever and had trouble breathing.
The former taxi driver was then found to have a lung infection and was hospitalised for treatment.
He was later transferred to the intensive care unit after his condition worsened. He died four days later.
Ministry of Health (MOH) figures from early this month show more than 75 per cent of patients with influenza now are infected with the H1N1 strain.
However, World Health Organisation (WHO) reports do not indicate that the disease has become more severe or virulent.
MOH said in an e-mail response yesterday: "Influenza and acute respiratory infections have risen in Singapore in the past few weeks. This is typical for this time of the year.
"As H1N1 is already circulating widely in Singapore and throughout the world as one of three seasonal influenza strains, no special disease control procedures such as isolation and quarantine are needed."
Singapore typically experiences two flu seasons yearly, from January to February, and from May to June – periods which coincide with winter in the Northern and Southern hemispheres respectively.
The H1N1 pandemic first struck the region in 2009.
The pandemic alert level for H1N1 was lowered back to green in Singapore last February– signalling no immediate health threat. As of May last year, 25 people here have died of H1N1.
The WHO declared the pandemic, which spread to more than 77 countries, over in August last year.
Still, as cold and flu cases here climb past epidemic levels, the Health Ministry has issued an alert urging the young, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses – three groups that are at high risk – to get themselves vaccinated.
The epidemic threshold for acute respiratory infections – which include those down with symptoms of fever, sore throats and the common cold – here is marked at 17,032 patients visiting polyclinics in a week.
From the second week this month, figures have crossed this threshold.
Latest figures from the MOH Infectious Diseases Bulletin show 20,702 people seeking treatment for acute respiratory infections at polyclinics across the island in the week ending Jan 22.
The dead man's son, Mr Abdul Rahman Mohd Lazim, 51, said his family were shocked when they found out his father had H1N1. They had the impression that H1N1 was a very dangerous virus.
"The hospital did not quarantine him and we were not told to wear masks either," he said.
The elderly man, who had nine children, had – after he fell ill – received about 50 relatives and friends, some of whom flew in from Malaysia.
None has fallen ill so far, Mr Rahman said.
An Agence France-Presse report on Jan 21 said a 21-year-old woman and a two-year-old child in Hong Kong, both of whom were infected with H1N1, were in critical condition.
An MOH spokesman said: "While most people with influenza recover with rest and symptomatic treatment, influenza can result in pneumonia requiring hospitalisation or even death."
The MOH stressed the importance of good personal hygiene and keeping a healthy lifestyle to build up immunity and guard against illnesses like the flu.
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Dept of Infectious Disease
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