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Swine flu alert

Neo Chai Chin, chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg

THERE are no known cases of swine flu in Singapore, but preventive measures have already kicked in at Changi Airport.

From 11pm yesterday, thermal scanners were deployed to screen passengers arriving from the United States. And from 8am today, all passengers arriving at Terminals 1, 2 and 3 will also have to undergo thermal scans just before their immigration checks. Those arriving at the Budget Terminal and Seletar Airport will have to do so from Wednesday, said the Health Ministry and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore in a joint statement last night.

Those with higher-than-normal temperatures will be put through further medical assessments.

Speaking to the media after a block visit in Woodlands yesterday, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan said it is too early to close our borders as this will affect the economy and food supply.

However, given the US' connectedness with the rest of the world, he warned it could be a matter of hours before swine flu reaches Singapore, hence the high level of alertness.

The Ministry has also advised Singaporeans to postpone or avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.

Those who develop flu-like symptoms including high fever, cough, and runny nose within seven days of travel to California, Texas or Kansas in the United States, or to Mexico, should seek medical attention.

So far, the World Health Organization does not consider a human swine flu pandemic to be imminent — the outbreak in Mexico and the US, however, constitute a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

And although humans cannot get swine flu from eating pork or pork products, the Agrifood and Veterinary Authority will be testing incoming pork products for the flu virus.

It will also step up surveillance testing of pigs from Pulau Bulan in Indonesia — Singapore's only source of live pigs — to ensure they are not infected with the virus behind the current outbreak.

Singapore does not import pork from Mexico, nor does it import pigs from the US.

From TODAY – Monday, 27-April-2009