Most Singaporeans will remember the 2003 SARS epidemic, or the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. Less well remembered are three other influenza pandemics of the 20th century: the 1918 Spanish flu, the 1957 ‘Asian flu’ and the 1968 ‘Hong Kong flu’.
As we face the current COVID-19 outbreak, what are the lessons that we can learn by looking back at past pandemics?
Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases) said, “There are broad parallels that can be drawn between these pandemics, largely because human behaviour has not changed much over the past century even though sociopolitical circumstances as well as technological and medical capabilities have changed greatly”.
While a pandemic brings with it huge economic and human loss, it is no doubt a learning opportunity for all.
“In medical science, in public health, we try to look for evidence. Every pandemic is actually an opportunity to learn more and gain more evidence. Of course, we don’t wish for it to happen, but when it does, we really need to take the opportunity to learn from it,” said Adjunct Associate Professor Vernon Lee.
Read the full article, ‘Three times that the world coughed, and Singapore caught the bug’ by The Straits Times here.