H5N1 bug could be a bigger killer than H1N1 if it mutates
By Salma Khalik, Health Correspondent
SINGAPORE has bought a million doses of a vaccine to protect the people here against the H5N1 bird flu.
The vaccine will arrive by the end of the year.
The bug is particularly scary for Singapore, which sits next to Indonesia, the country with the most cases (163) and deaths (135) from the virus. Vietnam, with the next highest number of cases (115) and deaths (58), is also nearby.
Both countries have already had one death each this year.
Unlike the H1N1 pandemic that swept the globe last year, the H5N1 bug could be a bigger killer by far if it mutates.
Of the 486 people reported to have been infected by H5N1 since 2003, 287 have died. This works out to an almost six-in-10 death rate.
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