Health authorities paying attention to pandemic risks during year-end travel season: Ong Ye Kung

Health authorities in Singapore are "paying far more attention" to potential pandemics, especially during the 2024 year-end travel period.

In a Dec. 22 update on Facebook, Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said that the highest risk is H5N1.

He also provided an update on three other key health concerns on the global radar, including the mysterious disease in Congo, mpox and Covid-19.

H5N1 carries highest risk, Covid-19 has lowest risk

H5N1

In the update, Ong said that H5N1, also known as avian influenza, carries the highest risk of being the next pandemic.

He highlighted that the U.S. recently reported its first severe case in Louisiana, involving an elderly patient.

Ong added that most of the 61 cases in the U.S. have been linked to direct animal contact, such as with birds or cattle, suggesting animal-to-human transmissions.

He said that authorities are "keenly watching out" for cases of human-to-human transmissions, which may indicate the virus' mutation and a pandemic risk.

Mysterious disease in Congo

On the mysterious disease in the Panzi district of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ong noted that it had caused the deaths of six per cent of patients, mostly children.

He said that the disease, which was prematurely labelled "Disease X", may be linked to severe malaria exacerbated by malnutrition, though further testing is ongoing to rule out other potential diseases.

Singapore has stepped in to assist by donating surveillance equipment to the African CDC and offering training for healthcare personnel.

Mpox clade 1

Ong also highlighted that mpox clade 1 continues to cause outbreaks in parts of Africa, with sporadic imported cases reported in Thailand, the United Kingdom (U.K.), Europe, and the U.S.

The most recent cluster involved a traveller to Africa who infected family members in Germany.

Ong said: "It will be a matter of time when Singapore experiences our first imported case and even first local infection."

However, he noted that most cases recover smoothly, and the disease has not proven highly deadly.

Covid-19

On Covid-19 in Singapore, Ong said that the country is currently dominated by the MV.1 variant, a descendant of Omicron, which accounts for about 30 per cent of local infections.

However, he noted that there has been no year end wave.

"Our wastewater testing and random tests did not register an uptick, which means that this is not a matter of lack of reporting by patients," he added.

Ong attributed the trend to a possible attenuation of infection waves but highlighted the need for health authorities to "watch out" for infection waves as previous waves had significantly increased hospital patient loads.