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2004
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Cessation of temperature checks at border
checkpoints from 9 Jun 2004 - SARS situation in
China; precautionary measures in Singapore
- SARS control measures in hospitals &
clinics stepped down
2003 -
New SARS
case in Taiwan
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SITUATION UPDATE ON
SARS PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN SINGAPORE
Background:
On Wednesday, 17 Dec
2003, the Ministry of Health reported on a Taiwanese SARS patient
who was in Singapore from 7 Dec 2003 to 10 Dec 2003. The patient
was afebrile throughout his three days here. He departed Singapore
early in the morning of 10 December 2003, and developed fever only
in the evening on the same day following his return to Taiwan.
All contacts are well
Another contact of the
SARS patient has been admitted to the Communicable Disease Centre.
This makes it a total of 6 contacts who have been admitted.
However, all the 6 contacts have been diagnosed as non-SARS. In
addition, PCR tests for SARS coronavirus are negative for all 6
cases. All other contacts of the SARS patient remain well.
In line with the 10
day incubation period, we will be lifting the HQO at midnight
today. All persons on HQO are well and should be able to return to
normal activities immediately.
The Singaporean man
who was on Flight CI-662 and seated in the same area as the
Taiwanese SARS patient will be returning to Singapore this
evening. He reports that he is well. As a precaution, arrangements
have been made for him to be medically assessed in Changi Airport
upon his arrival.
With the stringent
public health measures that are in place, the Ministry would like
to assure the public that there is no cause for alarm. The
Ministry is monitoring the situation closely and has taken the
necessary precautionary measures to prevent the spread of SARS.
The Ministry of Health
19 December 2003
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SITUATION UPDATE ON
SARS PREVENTIVE MEASURES IN SINGAPORE
Background:
The Ministry of Health
reported yesterday on a Taiwanese SARS patient who was in
Singapore from 7 Dec 2003 to 10 Dec 2003. The patient was afebrile
throughout his three days here. He departed Singapore early in the
morning of 10 December 2003, and developed fever only in the
evening on the same day following his return to Taiwan.
Contact tracing
completed
The Ministry of Health
has completed its contact tracing. A total of 276 people have been
identified to have come into contact with the Taiwanese SARS
patient while he was in Singapore from 7th to 10th
December. This includes 76 additional contacts who were on flight
CI-662 from Singapore to Taiwan on 10 Dec 03 and who had returned
to Singapore. They had not been seated close to the Taiwanese
patient. They are currently being contacted to ensure that they
are well.
The Ministry has
contacted the Singaporean man who was on Flight CI-662 and seated
in the same area as the Taiwanese SARS patient. The Singaporean
man had returned to Singapore but had left the country again. He
reported that he is well. MOH has advised him to monitor himself
for fever and symptoms and to seek medical attention should he be
unwell. MOH has also notified the authorities in that country.
The Ministry has
identified another 5 persons to be placed on HQO till 19 Dec. This
brings the total number of persons on Home Quarantine Order (HQO)
to 75. The rest are on telephone surveillance and are advised to
monitor their own temperature and to seek medical attention when
they are unwell.
Only 5 contacts are
unwell so far. This includes one person who had been placed under
home quarantine order. They have been assessed by the Infectious
Disease physicians at the Communicable Disease Centre. Although
all of them have been diagnosed as non-SARS, as a precautionary
measure, they have been admitted to the Communicable Disease
Centre.
With the stringent
public health measures that are in place, the Ministry would like
to assure the public that there is no cause for alarm. The
Ministry is monitoring the situation closely and has taken the
necessary precautionary measures to prevent the spread of SARS.
The Ministry of Health
18 December 2003
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MOH PRESS RELEASE
11 Sep 2003
Update on the new
probable SARS case
The 27-year old patient, warded in CDC2, is doing well and has no
fever. His family members are well, and so are all his direct
contacts who are on Home Quarantine Orders. So far, no additional
HQOs have been issued, apart from the 25 HQOs issued earlier.
Following the World Health Organisation's (WHO) advice for an
independent assessment, we have sent samples from the patient for
further testing at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Atlanta.
A full investigation will be carried out to establish the source
of infection. As part of this exercise, the Ministry has sought
the help of biosafety experts from the WHO and CDC Atlanta, to
audit the two laboratories, namely, the Environmental Health
Institute and the Microbiology Laboratory of NUS, where the
patient worked. The WHO and CDC Atlanta have agreed to send two
experts each to assist in the investigations, which will commence
when they arrive in Singapore next week. They will review
biosafety measures at the two laboratories, including practices,
facilities and equipment, and establish whether the laboratories
could have been the source of infection for the new probable case
.
MOH has assessed that there is no cause for alarm as the case is a
single and isolated case and of low public health risk. The WHO
agrees with our assessment. According to a WHO statement issued
yesterday, "the Singapore case is mild, isolated and has not
produced secondary cases, and therefore is not regarded as a
public health concern". It also said that "Singapore
continues to be a safe destination for travellers, and travellers
from Singapore pose no risk to other countries". WHO has also
mentioned that it will not be issuing any travel advisory. The
full statement is available at
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2003_09_10/en/
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- Review
Panel on new SARS case and biosafety
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Singapore
confirms first Sars case |
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The Ministry of
Health has confirmed Singapore's first Sars case since May 2003.
MOH PRESS RELEASE
9 SEP 2003
A new probable SARS case
The Singapore General Hospital (SGH) has picked up a new probable
SARS case. It appears to be a single, isolated case. The patient is
currently isolated at the Communicable Disease Centre.
Investigations are on-going to establish the source of infection.
His contacts have largely been followed up and all of them are well.
As a precautionary measure, MOH has served HQOs on his close
contacts.
Chronology of event
The patient is a 27-year-old Chinese Singaporean post-doctoral
student working on West Nile virus at a microbiology laboratory in
the National University of Singapore (NUS). He also does some work
at the Environment Health Institute (EHI) laboratory of the National
Environment Agency. He last visited the EHI laboratory on 23 August
03. He has no history of travel to previously SARS-affected areas
and no known contact with SARS patients.
On 26 Aug 03, he went to work at the NUS lab and was well but he
developed fever around midnight. On 27 Aug 03, he consulted a
general practitioner and was given a course of antibiotics. The
fever persisted and he sought treatment at the SGH A&E on 29 Aug
03. His chest X-ray was normal. He was diagnosed to have a viral
fever and discharged from the A&E. As he did not feel better, he
consulted a Chinese physician on 1 Sep 03. Two days later, on 3 Sep
03, he sought treatment again at the SGH A&E and was admitted.
From the time he became unwell on midnight of 26 Aug 03 till his
admission to SGH on 3 Sep 03, he remained at home apart from his two
visits to SGH A&E, the GP and Chinese physician.
When he was admitted to the SGH, he complained of fever, muscle
aches and joint pains, but did not have any significant respiratory
symptoms. He developed a dry cough after admission. Three serial
chest X-rays at SGH were all normal. However, on 8 Sep 03, when his
PCR and serology test results were returned positive, the patient
was transferred to the CDC for further management. He remains well.
Diagnosis
A repeat of his PCR tests was done in NUH lab today and was
confirmed positive. In view of his positive PCR and serology
results, MOH is treating him as a probable SARS case.
Source of infection
Investigations are underway to identify the patient's source of
infection.
Precautionary measures at the laboratories
Pending investigation, the two laboratories have suspended all their
research activities. Meanwhile, the staff members of the
laboratories have also been asked to stay at home until the
all-clear is given. No staff member has fever or feels unwell.
Precautionary measures at the SGH
Although the patient was isolated throughout his stay in the SGH and
the staff who had contact with him were in protective gear, the SGH
is not taking any chances and has ramped up its precautionary
measures to Orange Alert Level. These include restrictions to
visitation of the affected wards and more intensive temperature
surveillance of staff.
Home Quarantine Order
Group Number
Family members of case 8
TCM Sinseh 2
SGH A&E outpatients 8
Visitors 3
Discharged patients 4
Total 25
Conclusion
MOH has notified the WHO of the incident and the details of the
case. WHO has informed us that the case does not fulfil the case
definition for SARS as per the new WHO guideline in the post
outbreak period.
MOH's assessment is that this case was a low public health risk as
the patient was picked up and isolated early.
Ministry of Health
Media Release 9 Sep 2003
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