Update On SARS - 7 May

07 May 2003

Situation Update

There are no new probable cases today. The latest date of onset of a probable case is on 27 April 03. This case was isolated on 28 April 03. So far, there have been no cases reported with dates of onset later than 27 April 03. Today, 1 more patient has been discharged, bringing the total number of patients who have recovered from SARS to 150. 26 patients remained hospitalised, of whom 9 are in intensive care.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has lifted its traveller's notification for Singapore from a travel advisory to a travel alert on 6 May 03. Currently, the CDC issues two types of notices to travellers: alerts and advisories. A travel advisory recommends that nonessential travel be deferred; a travel alert, does not advise against travel, but informs travellers of a health concern and provides advice about specific precautions.

Changes to the case-definition for SARS

The World Health Organisation has on 1 May 03 revised the case definitions for the global surveillance of SARS. Cases of suspect and probable SARS will continue to be based on the clinical features and epidemiological data (history of travel to a SARS-affected area or close contact with a SARS patient in the preceding 10 days) but will now be supplemented by laboratory tests for the SARS coronavirus. WHO has noted that at present, there is no validated, widely and consistently available test for infection with the SARS coronavirus. However, definition of a probable case would now include a suspect case of SARS that has positive laboratory tests for SARS coronavirus, under conditions drawn up by WHO.

The Ministry has adopted the new WHO case definitions for suspect and probable SARS. In patients where the initial clinical presentation and contact history is not sufficient to classify a patient as a suspect or probable case, such cases will be listed under a new category "observation for SARS", until the evolution of the clinical picture and the results of laboratory investigations clarify their status. As these may take several days, contact tracing and the issuance of home quarantine orders, where necessary, will continue to be carried out for such cases.

New Patients

No patients were admitted as new suspect cases today. There were 2 patients admitted today as observation cases. They comprise a TTSH doctor and a patient whose contact history has not yet been established. The doctor was picked up to have fever by the hospital's staff temperature monitoring system, and admitted as a precautionary measure.

Quarantine Figures*

#Discharged patients under home quarantine: 385

Contacts under home quarantine: 630

Total under home quarantine orders: 1015

*Quarantine cases refer to those who are required to stay at home for precautionary reasons as they may have had contact with a SARS patient. These are healthy individuals.

# This is an added precautionary measure for discharged SARS patients as well as those with co-morbidities.

Summary of SARS cases

A summary of the SARS cases to date:

Discharged: 150

Hospitalised: 26 (including 9 in intensive care)

Deaths: 27

Total No. of Probable Cases: 204

Total No. of Suspect Cases: 12

Travel advisory

MOH urges the public to heed the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s advice to postpone travel to Hong Kong, Guangdong, Beijing and Shanxi until another time. We would also like to advise the public to avoid travel to other SARS affected areas - Taiwan, Toronto and Mongolia, unless absolutely necessary.