First reported H1N1-related death of 2010

An elderly Malay man has died from H1N1 and he is believed to be the first such reported case this year, Channel NewsAsia reported.

77-year-old Mohd Lazim Kalang died at the Singapore General Hospital on Wednesday due to a lung infection.

He had been warded a week earlier on January 15 for a fever and breathing difficulties.

His family told Channel NewsAsia that they only found out Mr Mohd Lazim had H1N1 hours before he died, and they are worried of contracting the virus, as none of them had taken precautions when visiting him in hospital.

In response, the Health Ministry said H1N1 is now one of the three dominant flu strains circulating in Singapore and the rest of the world.

And that no special control measures, like isolation and quarantine, are needed.

But the spokesman adds that while most people recover from H1N1, it could develop into pneumonia in elderly patients, the very young as well as those with chronic respiratory illnesses.

This could lead to hospitalisation or even death.

Latest numbers showed that there were some 20,000 reported flu cases in the week ending January 26.

Since the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, there have been 19 reported deaths from the virus.