News

The World Antibiotic Awareness Week 2016, led by the World Health Organisation from 14 – 20 November, aims to increase the awareness of global antibiotic resistance and encourage best practices among the general public, health workers and policy makers to avoid the further emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance, which results when antibiotics lose their efficacy against bacteria that cause infections in humans and animals, is a major global public health concern which threatens to cause severe social and economic implications on a global scale.  At the United NationsRead more

Following the Ministry of Health’s declaration on a “war on diabetes” earlier this year, a strategic framework encompassing the domains of primary prevention, early detection and disease management was developed. The proposed action plans and implications of this framework were discussed during the School’s Public Health Thought Leadership Dialogue Driving Singapore’s War on Diabetes on 14 November 2016. The discussion chaired by Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean, included panelists Associate Professor Kenneth Mak, Deputy Director Medical Services at the Ministry of Health, Dr Sue-Anne Toh, Clinical Director of the NUHS Regional Health System PlanningRead more

Children getting myopia at a young age increases the risk of worsened vision later in life, a study by the Singapore Eye Research Institute has found. Parents should try their best to delay myopia in their children by making sure they spend time outdoors, says Prof Saw Seang Mei from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, who headed the study. Prof Saw and her research team studied nearly 1000 children over several years. Those who were diagnosed with myopia between the ages of 3 to 6 ended up with highRead more

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 needRead more

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 inRead more

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 duringRead more

How did the Zika virus trigger a recent outbreak in Singapore? Infectious diseases experts say this could be a mystery, as existing tests are unreliable for infections more than two weeks old. “If a compatible mosquito bites someone who has the virus in his or her blood, the mosquito becomes infected. After about a week, the virus can be detected in the mosquito’s saliva, and the mosquito can then infect all the other people that it bites,” explains Associate Professor Hsu Li Yang on the process of transmission. “If these other infectedRead more

The term ‘inclusive growth’ has come under the spotlight, with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals’ vision of eradicating poverty. But what is meant by the term ‘inclusive growth’ and who does it aim to include? Inclusive growth must include the poor at every stage, from defining the problem to developing the solution, and efforts must be centred on the needs of the poor, appropriate for their circumstances, practical and implementable. Social entrepreneurship offers a new and innovative approach to inclusive growth, tackling poverty and its attendant social and health problems,Read more

Red meat intake may lead to an increased risk of developing kidney failure, a study led by Professor Koh Woon Puay of NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Duke-NUS Medical School has found. Substituting one serving of red meat with other sources of protein, such as poultry, fish or plant-based food, may reduce the risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by up to 62%. The findings are based on a study of about 63,000 Chinese in Singapore, who were between the ages of 45 and 74 years during recruitment betweenRead more

The NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University on 15 January 2016. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Professor Chia Kee Seng, Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, and Associate Professor Charnchai Panthongviriyakul, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University. The MoU was also presented by Prof Daris Theerakulpisut, Assistant Dean for International Relations and Cooperation Strategies, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University and A/Prof Teo Yik Ying, Vice Dean (Research), Saw Swee Hock SchoolRead more

It was a joyous and certainly unforgettable occasion for the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH) Class of 2016 on 10 July as they marked a significant milestone in both their lives and public health journeys at the NUS Commencement Ceremony. Held at the University Cultural Centre, this year the School graduated 52 Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) graduates. Together with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine postgraduates, the graduating class received their degrees from Presiding OfficerRead more