The Communicable Disease Centre is the national centre for the management of communicable and infectious diseases. It is also one of Singapore’s oldest hospitals. It began in 1907 as a quarantine camp for patients with infectious diseases. Between 1907 and 1931, ...
The influx of immigrants to Singapore in the 19th century brought various communicable diseases, such as smallpox, leprosy and cholera to the island. Health inspections and regulations became increasingly important in order to control the spread of such diseases ...
The National AIDS Control Programme is an action plan for protecting against and preventing the spread of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection and AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) in Singapore. It was formulated by the Advisory Committee on AIDS ...
Quarantine was formally introduced as a public health control measure in Singapore in 1868. It was an important method of disease control before the widespread adoption of vaccination and antimicrobial therapy. As a cosmopolitan port settlement, Singapore was particularly ...
Infectious disease outbreaks were prevalent in Singapore since pre-independence. Then, infectious diseases, such as cholera, typhoid fever, tuberculosis, smallpox, polio and measles, were often associated with unsanitary and overcrowded living conditions. Today, ...
Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, is an infectious disease caused by the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium. It spreads from person to person via airborne respiratory droplets from an infected person, and primarily affects the lungs. In the 19th century, Singapore’s ...
Hand Foot Mouth Disease (HFMD) is an infectious disease caused by intestinal viruses, the most common being the Coxsackie virus Enterovirus 71. The symptoms of HFMD include fever, sore throat and runny nose, rash on the hands, feet and buttocks, mouth ulcers, lack ...
The Singapore Poh Leung Kuk (保良局), or “office to protect virtue”, was established by the Chinese Protectorate in 1888. It grew out of one aspect of the protectorate’s work: controlling prostitution through registration and inspection to prevent the spread of venereal ...
Dengue or dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection characterised by the sudden onset of fever for three to five days and symptoms such as intense headaches, muscle and joint pain, rashes, and bleeding from the nose, gums and under the skin. Dengue is primarily ...
The Casino Control Act was enacted in 2006 to regulate the operations and gaming in casinos in preparation for the opening of the Integrated Resorts (IRs). It establishes and makes provision for the Casino Regulatory Authority of Singapore (CRA) to administer and ...
The Singapore Straits is among the most geographically strategic sites in the maritime world. Ships sailing between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean had to, and still have to, sail around the southern coast of Singapore. Over the centuries, control over ...
The Straits Medical Association was established in 1890 by a group of medical officers who saw a need to form a professional body for medical practitioners in Singapore to discuss and research local diseases and other medical subjects. The pioneering batch of office-bearers ...
The Chinese Protectorate was established in the Straits Settlements in 1877 to address matters concerning the Chinese community. Its main functions included establishing a pool of civil servants conversant in the Chinese language, managing newly arrived coolie ...
The battle of Bukit Timah (10–12 February 1942) took place during the Japanese invasion of Singapore. On the night of 10 February, two divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army attacked Bukit Timah, capturing the area in the early hours of 11 February. A subsequent ...
Marina Barrage is a government-commissioned dam built across the mouth of Marina Channel to create Singapore’s 15th reservoir, Marina Reservoir. Officially opened on 31 October 2008, it separates the water in Marina Basin from the seawater. It has been considered ...
The two-child policy was a population control measure introduced by the Singapore government during the 1970s to encourage couples to have no more than two children. It was part of the second Five-Year National Family Planning Programme (1972–75) that was unveiled ...
Pasar malam is the Malay term for night market or night bazaar, and a pasar malam typically opens for business when night falls. Pasar malam has its origins as weekly night markets organised by hawkers in 1950s Singapore. The night markets were phased out in 1978, ...
The Clean Air Act was passed by parliament on 2 December 1971. It was Singapore’s earliest attempt to control industrial pollution just as the country was industrialising rapidly. As early as 1967, the pace of industrialisation in Singapore had prompted the World ...
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Transport. Set up on 1 September 1984, the mission of this statutory board is to develop Singapore into an international aviation hub. The board’s responsibilities include ...
The Post Office Savings Bank (POSB) was established by the British colonial government in 1877 to provide banking facilities for lower-income groups. Following Singapore’s separation from Malaysia in 1965, control of the POSB was transferred to the Postmaster-General ...