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 […]
Not all fever and rash in Singapore is Zika… A middle-aged man presented (way before the current Zika outbreak) with high fever for 5 days, associated with runny nose and sore throat. On the third day of illness, he developed a rash which started from his face before spreading to his body and limbs. He […]
I had previously written about the teacher from Little Greenhouse preschool with tuberculosis, whose contract was had appeared to be at risk of premature termination according to media reports (the preschool has since put this decision on hold). A concerned member of the public wrote in quickly to express unease at the decision, which would […]
A colleague pointed out that the preschool teacher diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis could have her contract terminated early, according to news reports, although this part was not clear from the Todayonline report. I hope that this does not happen. TB-infected patients are generally not infectious after just 2 weeks of appropriate therapy, and the vast […]
The latest to make the news is that of a pre-school teacher (Little Greenhouse, Bukit Batok) who was diagnosed with pulmonary TB last Wednesday, leading to planned screening of all 104 pre-schoolers 20 staff. This follows news of the elderly resident from Peacehaven Bedok Day Centre who was diagnosed with TB in June, leading to […]
A month from now (21st September), the UN General Assembly will convene a one day high level meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in New York. The purpose is to “summon and maintain strong national, regional and international political commitment in addressing antimicrobial resistance comprehensively and multi-sectorally, and to increase and improve awareness of antimicrobial resistance.” […]
A young odd-jobs man presented with cough for 3 months, associated with weight loss and fatigue at work. Finally seeking medical attention at a public hospital, he was found to have cavitation and infiltrates in the right upper lobe of the lung, with sputum microscopy showing high counts of acid-fast bacilli (AFB 4+). He was […]
Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) belong to the current “pantheon” of “superbugs” causing human infections primarily in the hospital setting. Enterococci are a type of Gram-positive bacteria that are part of the intestinal flora. They are opportunistic pathogens, causing infections primarily in immunocompromised patients, especially when the gut mucosal barrier has been broken. Two species cause virtually […]
Tuberculosis, Singapore Curiously, a report of 2 SMRT train drivers and a crew manager being diagnosed with TB made it to the news today. Only one among them had active disease – the other two were diagnosed with latent tuberculosis which is non-infectious. Such cases are rarely highlighted in our mainstream media. The risk of tuberculosis […]
MIPHIDIC 