A 22-YEAR-OLD Singaporean female has been confirmed as the fifth case of the H1N1 flu in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said in a statement on Sunday.

The patient was in the United States from May 13-28 and returned to Singapore from New York via Tokyo on an All Nippon Airways flight NH901 at 2332 hours on May 29. She was seated at row 36.

She passed the thermal scanners at Changi Airport as she did not have a fever then.

However, the patient developed a fever the next morning and her mother drove her to Tan Tock Seng hospital. She was admitted to the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) and laboratory tests confirmed her infection the same day.

According to the statement, the patient's symptoms are mild and she is in stable condition.

MOH has initiated contact tracing of her close contacts, including the passengers on the same flight. They will be quarantined and provided with antiviral prophylaxis.

Based on MOH's risk assessment passengers within rows 34 to 38 on All Nippon Airways NH901 on 29 May who have not been contacted by MOH yet should call the MOH hotline at 1800-333 9999.

For more information on Influenza A (H1N1-2009), please access MOH's website at www.moh.gov.sg, call our hotline at 1800-333 9999, or visit www.flu.gov.sg.