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Singapore Reports First Suspected Pneumonia Case Linked to Wuhan

Singapore Reports First Suspected Pneumonia Case Linked to Wuhan

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore reported its first suspected case of pneumonia that’s possibly linked to the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where there’s an ongoing outbreak of a mysterious lung infection.

The patient, a three-year-old girl with a travel history to Wuhan, is in stable condition and has been hospitalized for further assessment and treatment, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Saturday. She has been isolated as a precautionary measure.

Preliminary tests showed that the case is positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common cause for childhood pneumonia.

The World Health Organization is monitoring the situation in Wuhan and is in active communication with its counterparts in China, where an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the outbreak. As of Friday, 44 people had been diagnosed with pneumonia, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission said.

Some of the infected worked at a fresh seafood and produce market in the city. The girl in the suspected case in Singapore had not visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market associated with the cluster, according to the health ministry.

Singapore implemented temperature screening at Changi Airport from Jan. 3 for all travelers arriving from Wuhan.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ranjeetha Pakiam in Singapore at rpakiam@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley James

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