A repeat announcement of the above contest, with attractive cash prizes that will be given out on World Antibiotic Awareness Week (13-19 November 2017). We now have a webpage hosted by the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, with further details available. Submissions are welcome from 1st June, closing on 30th August for the […]
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was first discovered on 2nd October 1960 by Prof Margaret Patricia Jevons at the Public Health Laboratory in Collindale, London, UK. Methicillin (or celbenin as it was also known as then) became available for prescription in 1959, and the conventional narrative has always been that MRSA arose as a consequence of […]
My second visit to the compound of the Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), WHO. It has been an interesting three days, finding out the status of the national action plans on antimicrobial resistance of the member states of WPRO, and learning from the participants the challenges faced as well as how they might possibly be […]
Announced by the United Nations this morning, the newly established group – which comprises high level representatives from various UN agencies, other relevant organisations, and experts from human and animal health as well as environmental sectors – will be co-chaired by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan. The other members of […]
Had great fun listening to medical students (Group 6) from Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine presenting on their Community Health Project (CHP) this morning. Naturally I felt that their project was the most important of all the ones done this year. Their findings on community carriage of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) published its first ever list of drug-resistant bacteria for which new antibiotics are urgently needed 2 days ago. The list is divided into 3 priority categories: “critical”, “high” and “medium”, based on a series of criteria that included (and I quote ad verbatim) “how deadly the infections they cause are; […]
Covered multiple times in multiple versions elsewhere, but a recent chat with a classmate (who has to write about this topic in Chinese) made me consider attempting my own version. What are the common myths I have encountered about antibiotics and antibiotic resistance? Antibiotics cure all infections Another version is that they work against colds […]
We are organizing an essay and a video contest for students of Singapore schools (including polytechnics but excluding universities). The essay contest is open to students between 13 and 20 years of age. No entry fee is required, and any essay format (i.e. fiction, scientific communication, poetry, etc) is welcome. The essays should be submitted […]
This issue came up as part of a discussion on improving antibiotic prescription – the discussion triggered (strangely enough) by the lack of mention in this week’s Straits Times article on inappropriate antibiotic prescription. It is an interesting topic for discussion and understanding, but I would like to stress that the issues go far beyond […]
MIPHIDIC 