Singaporean measures against avian influenza
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Singapore has taken a series of measures against avian influenza and the potential threat of a pandemic.
As of October 17, 2005, there were no cases of H5N1 avian influenza detected in Singapore, either in humans or poultry.
A major avian influenza pandemic will be very costly in terms of human lives as well as economic losses, especially in the densely populated city-state of Singapore.
Bird flu has infected poultry in large parts of Asia since 2003, killing at least 65 people, mostly in Vietnam and Thailand. Millions of birds have been culled to stop the spread of the disease. In October 2005, strain of the bird flu virus was detected in Turkey and Romania indicating that the avian flu was spreading from Asia to Europe. Most of the human deaths so far have been linked to contact with sick birds. But the World Health Organization has said that the virus could mutate into a form that is more easily transmitted from human to human and possibly triggering a pandemic reminiscent of the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide.
In Thailand, a probable case of human-to-human transmission of H5N1 virus was reported in the northern province of Kamphaeng Phet. This is consistent with current knowledge of the behaviour of H5N1 virus that inefficient, limited human-to-human transmission may occur on rare occasions. As of 17 October 2005, evidence indicated that spread among humans has been limited to this cases, nonetheless, surveillance has been intensified in the province.
When planning the response, it is assumed that the first local human case is likely to be imported from affected countries and is difficult to prevent. The virus, which is more infectious than SARS, is likely to spread quickly and has a high morbidity and mortality.
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