By Teh Jen Lee

H1N1 is not Sars. There is little suffering or trauma and, compared to Sars, the threat of death in Singapore remains remote.

Indeed, for one Singapore permanent resident, catching the Influenza A H1N1 virus has been like, well, coming down with the flu.

This was the experience of Matthew, 28, (not his real name), who was discharged on Sunday after five days in the Communicable Disease Centre (CDC) of Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

No shame

So, apart from personal privacy, there should be no reason for patients who have recovered to live under a cloud of anonymity or shame, like some criminal or victim.

The consultant with a global technology company, who was the second confirmed H1N1 case here, told The New Paper that the reason he did not want to be photographed was because he wanted privacy, not because he felt ashamed that he had caught the virus.

He said: 'There's no reason to stigmatise people who had it because it's mild, it's not like Sars.'

Dr Tan Sze Wee, spokesman for the Singapore Medical Association, agreed.

'Of course, we should not stigmatise those who have caught the H1N1 virus. Once they are discharged from the CDC, it's perfectly safe.'

They were responding to questions about whether patients who remain unnamed would inadvertently be stigmatised. This is because, by remaining anonymous, it would seem as if they have something to hide.

Would the same need for anonymity hold true of someone who is down with the common flu?

Said Matthew, an Indian national, yesterday: 'Compared to the normal flu, there was no difference. I had the same symptoms. My fever was below 38deg C and I had a slight cough.'

Matthew had spent a week in Chicago and returned to Singapore just after midnight on 25 May.

He developed a fever later that day and went to see a doctor at a nearby clinic, who thought he had bronchitis.

Two days later, when his fever persisted, he returned to the same clinic. This time, the doctor decided to call 993 and Matthew was taken by ambulance to CDC.

Apart from his two visits to the clinic, he had stayed at home the entire time since arriving in Singapore. He was admitted for further assessment on Wednesday night and laboratory results confirmed his infection the next day.

First time in hospital

It was his first time staying in a hospital. The experience was daunting at first because everyone was wearing masks and he was not allowed to have any visitors.

But he said he was treated well by the staff.

Every three to four hours, he would have his blood pressure, temperature and oxygen level checked.

He went through three-quarters of a novel that he took along before he was discharged.

'It wasn't bad to get away from the office e-mails,' he said, laughing.

He is on medical leave until the end of this week.

His wife, who is on home quarantine until tomorrow, has not shown any symptoms.

The virus, which has infected seven people here, all of whom have been abroad, has so far proven to be mild.

This is why Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan sees no reason to raise Singapore's colour-code alert system from yellow to orange.

He said: 'We will only raise it if the virus has mutated and it is causing great havoc in other countries and causing much higher fatality rates... Then, of course, it is a different ball game.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.