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About This blog has been established, by a group of 13 year old students from Singapore on 17 May 2009, to help educate the public on the H1N1 Influenza A virus. Please respect this blog and its creators.You may pose your questions to this address Blog Stats TUV : Today Unique Visitors TPV : Today Page Views AUV : Total Unique Visitors APV : Total Page Views Categories
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May 2009
June 2009
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Channel News Asia-Lastest News Singapore has announced changes in tactics to battle H1N1 influenza. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said at a press conference on Monday that as the numbers in the country escalate, agencies have to shift their resources to focus on detecting and treating infected cases, paying special attention to high-risk patients. From now, there will be a shift from alert level of Yellow Containment to Yellow Mitigation, and Singaporeans can expect some adjustments in the next few days. The World Health Organization's (WHO) pandemic alert level is at the maximum level of six. The A(H1N1) virus, which was first detected in Mexico in April, has infected more than 52,000 people around the world in 100 countries and territories, causing 231 deaths. WHO said the the flu pandemic will last up to two years and warned countries that already had large numbers of infections to prepare for a "second wave of infection". Labels: level six, Yellow Mitigation The Pandemic Alert Level Source In the 2009 revision of the phase descriptions, World Health O has retained the use of a six-phased approach for easy incorporation of new recommendations and approaches into existing national preparedness and response plans. The grouping and description of pandemic phases have been revised to make them easier to understand, more precise, and based upon observable phenomena. Phases 1–3 correlate with preparedness, including capacity development and response planning activities, while Phases 4–6 clearly signal the need for response and mitigation efforts. Furthermore, periods after the first pandemic wave are elaborated to facilitate post pandemic recovery activities. In nature, influenza viruses circulate continuously among animals, especially birds. Even though such viruses might theoretically develop into pandemic viruses, in Phase 1 no viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans. In Phase 2 an animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat. In Phase 3, an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic. Phase 4 is characterised by verified human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic but does not necessarily mean that a pandemic is a forgone conclusion. Phase 5 is characterised by human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalise the organisation, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short. Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterised by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way. During the post-peak period, pandemic disease levels in most countries with adequate surveillance will have dropped below peak observed levels. The post-peak period signifies that pandemic activity appears to be decreasing; however, it is uncertain if additional waves will occur and countries will need to be prepared for a second wave. Previous pandemics have been characterised by waves of activity spread over months. Once the level of disease activity drops, a critical communications task will be to balance this information with the possibility of another wave. Pandemic waves can be separated by months and an immediate “at-ease” signal may be premature. In the post-pandemic period, influenza disease activity will have returned to levels normally seen for seasonal influenza. It is expected that the pandemic virus will behave as a seasonal influenza A virus. At this stage, it is important to maintain surveillance and update pandemic preparedness and response plans accordingly. An intensive phase of recovery and evaluation may be required. Labels: The Pandemic Alert Level What Are The Alert Colours and What Do They Mean? Source  Alert Green Isolated  external or local cases of animal-to-human transmission. Threat of human-to-human infection remains low. The disease, if any, is basically limited to animals.Strategy is to step up vigilance and make preparations to meet the potential threat. Action: • Place close contacts of cases under phone surveillance and observe them for flu-like symptoms. • Encourage healthcare workers and high-risk groups to get vaccinated against seasonal flu. • Instruct use of personal protection equipment for those looking after suspect cases. • Advise public to practise good personal hygiene habits and responsible social behaviour.  Alert Yellow Inefficient human-to-human transmissions of flu caused by a novel virus, requiring close and sustained contact to an index case. Further spread can be prevented through public health measures to isolate cases and quarantine contacts. Risk of import into Singapore elevated. Isolated imported cases may occur but there is no sustained transmission. Strategy is to prevent further import of cases, and to ring fence and isolate cases to prevent spread. The focus will be to provide treatment of all cases, and antiviral prophylaxis to contacts including exposed healthcare workers. Action: • Alert Green action apart, institute home quarantine for close contacts of cases. • Institute temperature screening and impose restriction on hospital and clinic visitors. • Restrict inter-hospital movement, except in emergencies. • Healthcare workers to take temperature twice a day. • Institute temperature screening for passengers arriving from affected countries at border control checkpoints. • Travellers from affected countries given Health Alert Notices (HANs) and advised to monitor their temperature daily for 1 incubation period.  Alert Orange Virus becoming increasingly better adapted to humans but may not yet be fully transmissible, requiring close contact with an index case. Larger clusters appear in one or two places outside Singapore but a pandemic has not yet been declared. A cluster of cases may also occur in Singapore but human-to-human spread remains localized. Public health measures such as isolation and quarantine will be effective to break the chain of transmission. Strategy is to contain spread arising from any local cases and break the chain of transmission, while preserving essential services and resources. All the measures taken in Alert Yellow will continue where operationally feasible. Action: • Implement “No visitor” rule at all hospitals. • Restrict all inter-hospital movement of patients or healthcare workers. • Set up Flu Clinics at the 18 Polyclinics for assessment and anti-viral treatment of flu-like patients. • Commence antiviral prophylaxis for identified essential services. • Encourage temperature taking at schools and all non-healthcare workplaces, markets, places of mass gatherings etc. • Carry out temperature screening for in-bound and outbound passengers at all air, sea and land border checkpoints. • Consider closing of schools and suspension of public gathering and events.  Alert Red WHO declares that an influenza pandemic has begun. Singapore eventually also affected. Higher risk of acquiring the disease from the community once pandemic spreads to Singapore. Strategy is to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. All measures taken in Alert Orange will continue to be applied. Closing of school and suspension of selected events to prevent congregation of large groups of people.  Alert Black High rates of severe disease and deaths. Emergency measures implemented to bring the situation under control. Healthcare and social support systems are overwhelmed by the pandemic. Economic activities are severely disrupted. Strategy is to ensure that medical & public health measures take precedence over social & economic considerations. Focus is to contain the “damage” and regain control of the situation, Drastic measures like stopping all social events may be implemented. The majority of measures are as in Alert Red plus the following action: • Suspend all public gatherings, schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL) closures. • Issue advisory to public to stay home or even consider imposing curfew. Labels: Alert Colours |