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Last Friday, the Ministry of Health (MOH) raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) from Yellow to Orange, following several cases of COVID-19 with no links to other cases. Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Partner at Oliver Wyman and Co-Director of Global Health at SSHSPH, Assistant Professor Clarence Tam and Mr Adrian Tan, APAC Practice Leader (Future of Work and Tech) at PeopleStrong, share their thoughts relating to the change in DORSCON level in Channel NewsAsia’s latest episode of Heart of the Matter. On the panic-buying that was observed afterRead more

Some patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had visited a doctor twice or thrice before it was confirmed that they were infected. Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang explains that general practitioners are sometimes unable to identify suspected cases on the first visit to the clinic because the initial symptoms of COVID-19 are similar to flu or the common cold. “Without other indicators such as a recent travel history to mainland China or contact with other confirmed cases, it would not be easy for GPs to differentiateRead more

Studies have shown that viruses thrive better in cool, dry climates, and they do not persist well in hot, humid environments (over 30°C and 80 per cent humidity level). Singapore’s tropical climate makes it less conducive for the spread of the novel coronavirus — now officially named COVID-19 — but this also means there is extensive use of air-conditioning as a way to escape from the heat. “Air-conditioning is something that can’t be helped in Singapore, especially during the hot months,” said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (InfectiousRead more

Screen viewing is increasingly prevalent but excessive screen time in childhood has been linked to a range of health problems, including increased risk of obesity and reduced cognitive development. A study found that toddlers who spend more than three hours a day looking at a screen are more likely to be less physically active by the time they reach kindergarten-age. The researchers suggest that limiting the exposure of young children to screens (such as TVs, computers and handheld devices) to one hour a day may promote healthier behaviours later inRead more

Coconut oil has been marketed as a health food for years, but a recent study found that its consumption results in significantly higher levels of LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol. Epidemiology Domain Leader Professor Rob van Dam, postdoctoral fellow Dr Nithya Neelakantan and NGS PhD student Mr Jowy Seah reviewed 16 studies to assess the effects of coconut oil consumption on blood lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors. They found that coconut oil significantly increased LDL cholesterol by 8.6 per cent, as compared with non-tropical vegetable oils such as safflower oil andRead more

The world has seen multiple disease outbreaks in the past two decades, including SARS, H1N1, Ebola, and now the coronavirus that originated from Wuhan in China. Infectious diseases have no respect for borders, and Singapore will always be vulnerable given its population density and that it is a major transportation hub. Associate Professor Jeremy Lim, Co-Director of the Leadership Institute for Global Health Transformation (LIGHT), wrote: “It’s time to get real about the prevalence and risk of infectious diseases. This is the new normal.” As such disease outbreaks become common,Read more

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus epidemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, signifying the need for a concerted international effort to curb the spread of the virus. Assistant Professor Clarence Tam highlights the key uncertainties that remain — how widely the virus will spread outside China, what impact this will have (particularly in countries with fragile health systems) and exactly how severe this illness is. He describes how human migration and urbanisation — together with increased human encroachment into animal habitats andRead more

Many are comparing the current 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic to the SARS outbreak in 2002­­–03, the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus (swine flu) outbreak in 2009, as well as the common cold. “…currently the 2019-nCoV is shaping up to look less like SARS-CoV, and more like a virulent form of the influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus, although more data is required before we can be completely certain,” said Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases). He added that with the information that is currently available, the infection rate of 2019-nCoVRead more

As of 2pm on 2 February 2020, there have been no new confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV infection in Singapore. All the confirmed cases have recent travel history to Wuhan, and there are currently no reports of local transmission here. “There is a good chance that there will be no, or very limited, community spread in Singapore if we keep up with what we are doing thus far,” said Professor Chia Kee Seng. “If there is no or little community transmission, wearing masks on public transport is unnecessary,” he said, inRead more

The NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) on 29 January 2020. UNAIDS Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, Mr Eamonn Murphy, and Dean, Professor Teo Yik Ying, signed the memorandum of understanding at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Prince Mahidol Award Conference 2020 in Bangkok. The MoU will strengthen both parties’ collaboration and see them combine efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in Asia, the Pacific and in Singapore. The agreementRead more

The new coronavirus has infected nearly 600 people in China and claimed 17 lives. It is in the same family as the viruses that cause SARS and MERS. The symptoms are similar to influenza, in that there is cough and fever, but there is pneumonia in people infected with the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Considering the measures currently taken by authorities, as well as lessons from the SARS epidemic, Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang, Programme Leader (Infectious Diseases), says that the 2019-nCoV is unlikely to become a global pandemic. “ThisRead more

The Ministry of Health, Singapore (MOH) announced on 22 January 2020 that it has set up a ministerial task force to deal with the novel coronavirus. “It is inevitable that we will see an imported case sooner or later,” said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong, adding that this is because of the evolving situation and the high volume of traffic in and out of Singapore. He said, “I think it’s better for us to pre-empt some of these potential risks and do what we can to mitigate the risk. …Read more