The severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, is caused by a novel coronavirus, which became known as the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). It is a highly contagious and potentially fatal respiratory disease that is spread mainly through the respiratory secretions ...
The 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) apparently started in Foshan in Guangdong, China, with the first case being seen on 16 November 2002. From there it spread through China and worldwide as far as Canada. The outbreak officially ended ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
On 6 July 1990, a team of doctors at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH), led by Dr Tong Ming Chuan, performed the first heart transplant in Singapore. The donor heart was from Ong Soon, a 41-year-old construction worker, who died in an industrial accident. The ...
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 ...
Ong Poh Lim (b. 1923, Kuching, Sarawak–d. 17 April 2003, Singapore) was one of the greatest badminton players of the late 1940s and ’50s. A versatile player with an aggressive game, Ong won numerous singles and doubles titles, including the Singapore, Malayan, ...
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, ...
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 ...
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, ...
Iranian twin sisters, Laleh and Ladan Bijani, were the world’s first adult Siamese twins to undergo surgical separation. The 52-hour marathon operation began on 6 July 2003 at Raffles Hospital in Singapore. However, 29-year-old twins, who were born conjoined at ...
The Church of Saints Peter & Paul is located at 225A Queen Street. Built in 1870, the church is historically associated with the growth of the Chinese Catholic community in Singapore. The church building was gazetted a national monument in 2003.
The Singapore League (S.League) is a professional football league and represents the highest level of domestic football competition in Singapore. It was officially launched in 1996 with eight local teams contesting in the inaugural season. The league accepted its ...
Singapore's first reverse bungee jump ride literally got off the ground at Clarke Quay on 19 November 2003. Unlike the conventional bungee jump, where thrill seekers leap off a bridge while tied to a bungee cord, riders of the reverse bungee jump are catapulted ...
An estate with architectural, cultural and historic significance, Tiong Bahru was developed in the 1920s as Singapore’s first public housing estate by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT), the colonial predecessor of the Housing Development Board. In 2003, 20 ...
Ong Keng Sen (b. 1964, Singapore–), the critically acclaimed artistic director of TheatreWorks, a local theatre company, is best known for his intercultural Shakespeare-inspired trilogy of works – Lear, Desdemona and Search: Hamlet. He was the artistic director ...
Tan Hwee Hwee (b. 1974, Singapore–) was the recipient of the National Arts Council’s (NAC) Young Artist Award in 2003. She is the author of Foreign Bodies (1997) and Mammon Inc. (2001), which won the Singapore Literature Prize in 2004. Her works have been published ...
Yeng Pway Ngon (b. 26 January 1947, Singapore–d. 10 January 2021, Singapore) was a well-known poet, novelist and critic in the Chinese literary scene in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A prolific writer, Yeng’s works have been translated into English, ...
The Development Bank of Singapore Ltd (DBS) was established on 16 July 1968 as a public limited company to take over the industrial financing responsibilities of the Economic Development Board (EDB) and began operations on 1 September 1968. Its main function upon ...