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First Aids case discovered in Singapore

By GILLIAN POW CHONG

THE first case of Aids - acquired immune deficiency syndrome - has been discovered in Singapore.

The patient, "a Singapore man who has travelled widely", is being treated for gut and chest infections at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Took Seng Hospital, Dr Chew Chin Hin, acting Permanent Secretary (Health), told a press conference yesterday.

It was confirmed on Thursday that he has clinical Aids, which means his immune system is damaged, and his body is defenceless against infections.

Aids carriers have been found in Singapore but their condition is different from this man's as they have been exposed to the Aids HTLV-III virus, but do not have symptoms of the disease.

Statistics from abroad Indicate about 10 per cent of carriers eventually get the disease.

The man has not been told he is suffering from the disease "following requests from his family and relatives who were calm and at the same time anxious about publicity when the news was first broken to them", said Dr Chew.

"But we want to discuss it with the family again because we feel the man, who has lost 10 kg in the past few months, ought to know of his condition," he said.

The ministry does not believe he falls into any of the high-risk groups - haemophiliacs, homosexuals, prostitutes and intravenous drug users.

History of transfusions

But he has a history of blood transfusions during an operation abroad. "The man is not quite clear when, as it was done many years ago," said Dr Chew.

Aids is a disease with a long incubation period and it is "very difficult sometimes to pinpoint the source of infection. But it is likely he contracted the infection overseas through blood transfusions," said Dr Ong Yong Wan, chairman of the Aids advisory committee and director of the Blood Transfusion Services.

The man was admitted to a government hospital for chest and diarrhoeal infections and was transferred to the Communicable Disease Centre when he did not respond to treatment.

There has been no outcry from the staff, unlike when the first Aids carriers were discovered in April last year. This time, medical staff have been briefed on precautions to take when handling him.

They also have to be extra careful In prominently labelling bottles with his blood samples as "bio-hazard", said Dr Jennifer Lee, director of the ministry's management services and administrative division.

"We are trying our treat his condition, but as far as curing his Aids is concerned, that's a different matter, said Dr Ong.

The man is responding to the potent antibiotics being given to him and his gut infection is clearing, though his chest infection is still not completely clear.

Dr Chew stressed that the disease cannot be contracted by such things as breathing the same air as the man or putting an arm around him.

Aids is passed on through sexual contact, blood transfusion, via open cuts, or infected hypodermic needles whether shared by patients in a hospital or between one drug user with Aids and his fellow drug users.

Another three men have been found to have the Aids-related virus, bringing the number of Aids carriers to eight. The new carriers - all men below the age of 40 - were discovered after a year's screening of some 20,000 blood donors.

It is not clear whether they fall into the high-risk groups as they were not very forthcoming in the interviews, said Dr Ong.

References[]

Gillian Pow Chong, "First Aids case discovered in Singapore", The Straits Times, 27 September[].

Acknowledgements[]

This article was archived by Roy Tan.

Archive of "First Aids case discovered in Singapore", The Straits Times, 27 September 1986

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