Posted on 03/15/2003 2:12:03 PM PST by Lessismore
With six more ill, the advice is to avoid HK, Hanoi and Guangdong
THE Health Ministry has advised people to avoid travelling to Hongkong, Hanoi and Guangdong 'unless absolutely necessary' because of mystery cases of pneumonia that have left six dead and hundreds more ill there.
In Singapore, six more people were admitted to hospital yesterday with what the authorities are calling 'atypical' pneumonia, bringing the total to nine.
The new cases were mostly people who had been in close contact with the first three women who had developed pneumonia after visiting Hongkong.
Two of the first three have been discharged, and the last is recovering at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
The new victims are believed to be her parents, a friend, two nurses at the hospital, and the husband of one of the nurses.
Some of them have not been confirmed as having atypical pneumonia, although all six show symptoms of it.
One person has died in Hongkong, and five more in Guangdong.
Taiwan, with two suspected cases, has also advised people against visiting Hongkong and mainland China.
The Health Ministry here said that anyone who develops fever, muscle aches and flu-like symptoms within two weeks of travelling to Hongkong, Hanoi or Guangdong should seek immediate medical attention.
The same applies to those in close contact with people who develop these symptoms.
'Investigations into the cause of the outbreaks are still ongoing and no causative organisms have been identified,' it said yesterday.
Pneumonia is the third biggest killer in Singapore, accounting for one in 10 deaths.
Doctors are trying to identify the cause of the disease, which they currently suspect may be viral rather than bacterial. They are hoping that the disease is not transmitted by airborne particles, as this would make it more infectious.
Five of the new cases here were people who had been in contact with the woman patient.
Before she was diagnosed and isolated, the woman had been in an open ward, but none of the other patients there had fallen ill.
This seems to indicate that the illness spreads by droplets breathed out by the sick person.
The ministry said it was in touch with the World Health Organisation and Hongkong health authorities to keep track of developments.
Meanwhile, Minister of State(Health and Environment) Balaji Sadasivan said Singaporeans should not be unduly alarmed as the situation was being closely monitored.
If this is really serious, we'll know in a week.
That's good news! That's the first news of a recovery so far.
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