MOH rebuts Lee Wei Ling again...

[makapaaa]

Didn't she admit failing her medical exams in the UK recently? Is she a qualified doc after all? Or meleetocracy at work again? Coffeeshop Chit Chat - MOH rebuts Lee Wei Ling again...

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From: kojakbt22 May-14 7:55 pm To: ALL (1 of 26) 13417.1 Exposure to H1N1 virus 'a bad idea' By Judith Tan HEALTH Ministry director of medical services K. Satku dismissed theories that people should catch Influenza A (H1N1) now while it is still a relatively mild disease to build immunity if it returns in a more virulent form. 'Generally, as a principle, it is not good practice to expose an individual to a contagious disease to gain immunity as any infectious disease might give rise to complications,' he said. Professor Satku was reacting to a letter in The Straits Times Forum page on Wednesday written by director of the National Neuroscience Institute Lee Wei Ling. Professor Lee had written that it might be possible to create immunity to H1N1 flu by allowing the relatively benign virus to enter Singapore and letting people be infected to develop immunity. 'This way, if or when the virus mutates and turns virulent, our herd immunity may better protect us from a serious epidemic,' she said. British scientists have noted that older people who have lived through previous pandemics may have immunity, as younger adults and children account for most of the cases in the current outbreak. H1N1 is not in the same league as, say, the well-established chicken pox virus, Prof Satku said. Chicken pox parties were once popular to ensure that children caught this mild childhood disease and got it over with. '(H1N1) is still evolving and currently recognised to have complications and case fatality in excess of seasonal influenza,' he said. It is not good practice to expose oneself to acquire immunity as 'the risks to himself or his contacts to whom he may inadvertently spread the disease cannot be predicted'. Also responding to the suggestion, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan had said earlier this week: 'I suppose at the individual level, you can experiment with your lives. But I think as Health Minister, I cannot experiment with Singaporeans' lives, particularly when there remains incomplete information about the virus.' kojakbt@gmail.com