A middle-aged woman from Bangladesh sought treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in Singapore. Her diagnosis was first made in a hospital in Dhaka (the capital of Bangladesh), where she stayed for 10 days prior to her transfer here. She had presented with fever, muscle aches and increasing fatigue, and had received antibiotics for unremitting […]
This is a more “specialised” and technical clinical vignette. An elderly man was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for acute respiratory distress from pulmonary oedema, and required intubation with mechanical ventilation. He had multiple co-morbid conditions including diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, and ischaemic heart disease (with left ventricular ejection fraction of 35%). Three […]
A new year has begun. What were the major infectious diseases events of the past year? The following two are my personal picks, reflecting on what I have read or experienced in 2014: Ebola outbreak in West Africa. This is the Ebola outbreak that dwarfs all previous outbreaks combined, and is still ongoing in Sierra […]
I came across this site via a search on “superbugs” on Google News. The UK review team was commissioned by the UK Prime Minister in July 2014, and published its first report about 2 weeks ago. By the end of 2 years – summer 2016 – the Review will have to propose a package of […]
An unusual post in the Sports pages of the Straits Times today, highlighting the finding of superbugs in the Rio de Janeiro bay where the 2016 Olympics sailing and surfing competitions will be held (unfortunately behind the ST pay wall). It is a remarkable thing to find an article on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the ST, […]
Managed to attend more talks today. The morning plenary was delivered by Prof Hsueh Po Ren from Taipei, Taiwan, who described in detail the escalating threat of antimicrobial resistance in the Asia-Pacific region. The quality of the photos is poor (taken using an iPhone 5!), given the dim lighting during the talks. The subsequent keynote […]
Currently attending the 15th APCCMI, which is held at the Sunway Convention Centre in KL, Malaysia. The conference is currently in its 2nd day, and will end on Saturday noon (29th November 2014). It brings together many clinician and researchers in the region who are focused on infectious diseases, particularly antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial stewardship is […]
Antibiotic Awareness Day is today, and every 18th November. Started in 2008 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), its aim is to highlight the importance of taking antibiotics responsibly and to end unnecessary use of antibiotics. Other countries such as United States, Australia and Canada have taken up this initiative, converting […]
What do disparate parts of the world such as Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Holland, Western Australia, and other Scandinavian countries have in common? From an infectious diseases perspective, they all have similarly low rates of healthcare-associated MRSA (and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria) despite being developed countries/regions with sophisticated healthcare. Denmark’s success in controlling healthcare-associated MRSA despite initial […]
There has been considerable variability in terms of MRSA control in hospitals around the world. This can perhaps be best shown if one looks at the antimicrobial resistance surveillance report published by the European CDC (latest = 2012). I have taken the liberty to copy the relevant diagram (below). It can be seen that the […]
MIPHIDIC 