It was both a surprise and an honour to be invited for the lecture organised by the Science and Innovation Team of the British High Commission. Prof Sally Davies has been UK’s chief medical officer (equivalent in rank to permanent secretary in the civil service) since 2010, the first woman to attain that position. The […]
The number of reported Zika cases in Singapore has plunged over the past couple of weeks, as can be seen from the National Environment Agency’s website (screenshot below). Only one cluster – the original Aljunied-Sims Drive area – remains active (with new cases being reported) currently. How much of this is due to actual control […]
Dengvaxia (CYD-TDV) – the first licensed dengue vaccine – is a quadrivalent live attenuated chimeric dengue vaccine developed by Sanofi Pasteur. An attenuated yellow fever virus forms the backbone of the vaccine, with dengue structural proteins attached (the chimera). It has just been licensed in Singapore, and is approved for use in those between the ages […]
The report on the summit organised by the Wellcome Trust in April 2016 to discuss evidence surrounding various policy recommendations for controlling antimicrobial resistance has been published. Policy makers and researchers from 27 countries participated. Three areas for immediate policy action were identified and highlighted: Antibiotic use in agriculture has to be reduced, but without […]
Held jointly with the 11th Singapore Public Health & Occupational Medicine Conference at the Waterfront Copthorne Hotel. I managed to attend the opening and initial lectures yesterday morning. Dr Amy Khor, the Senior Minister of State, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources & Ministry of Health, was once again the guest of honour (as […]
The Zika epidemic in Singapore appears to be progressing towards endemicity. As of yesterday, there are 387 confirmed cases, with 9 clusters. Among the confirmed cases are 16 pregnant women, and the Ministry of Health has announced plans to set up a national surveillance programme to monitor the development of babies born to these and […]
Approximately 11 hours from now, the United Nation General Assembly will host a “high level meeting” on antimicrobial resistance at the UN headquarters in New York. There will be statements by the UN secretary-general and the director-generals of the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO) and World Organization for […]
Took a truncated hiatus from Zika to attend the 17th International Sympsium on Staphylococci and Staphylococcal Infections held at the Nine Tree Convention Centre in Seoul, Korea. It’s a rather quaint and unique conference, centered around one single bacterial genus (but it’s almost all about Staphylococcus aureus and MRSA), held every two years rotating between […]
MIPHIDIC 