September 2016

Several key public health challenges including Singapore’s ongoing “War on Diabetes” and the threat of infectious diseases such as dengue and Zika were highlighted at the 2nd Singapore International Public Health Conference and the 11th Singapore Public Health and Occupational Medicine Conference. Close to 600 international and local researchers, academics, healthcare professionals, policy-makers and industry leaders from 25 countries attended the Conference on 29 and 30 September 2016. With the theme “Contemporary Challenges, Sustainable Solutions”, public health experts gathered to seek sustainable solutions to the many public health challenges facingRead more

On 21 September 2016, the United Nations will convene a high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a problem which occurs when drugs used against pathogens become ineffective. The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing one, with infections and deaths from “superbugs” exceeding those of SARS, Zika or dengue, says Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader of the School’s Antimicrobial Resistance Programme. Greater use of antibiotics in treating infectious diseases has increased the pressure on bacteria to evolve and develop a resistance to drugs, and hence there is a need

Public distrust of vaccines can cause diseases like yellow fever and measles to spread quickly if people refuse vaccines, researchers say. The largest global survey on vaccine confidence surveyed nearly 66,000 people across 67 countries, and was led by researchers from the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, together with authors from Imperial College London and the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. The survey showed that people in Southeast Asia displayed the highest vaccine confidence level, while Europeans showed the least confidence in

A strategy which targets minimising and testing for infection in pregnant women, outpatient management of patients and controlling mosquito spread is key in tackling the ongoing Zika outbreak, say Associate Professors Alex Cook and Hsu Li Yang from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health. In weighing the public health responses, the hospitalisation of those with symptoms may not be cost-effective as asymptomatic Zika-infected people, who form the bulk of Zika infections, can also transmit the virus. Simple isolation of confirmed or suspected cases, as well as for male patients to use protection during