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First report of AIDS

First AIDs case to be reported in Singapore was merely two years after the killer disease made headline internationally.

AIDS was first detected in Singapore in May 1985 in two male patients. This was just two years after AIDS made international headlines on 23 April 1983.   AIDS or Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome is an infection caused by the HIV or the Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus. The first three cases of AIDS in Singapore was identified by Dr K. V. Ratnam, the dermato-immunologist at Middle Road Hospital which since then has become the Communicable Disease Centre. Since then, the local government has set up the National AIDS Control Programme to manage this disease. For statistics on AIDS in Singapore, consult the appendix in the Ministry of Health Annual Report or in Action for AIDS website.



Author
Sharon Chua 



References 
Singapore Facts and Pictures (p.149). (1996). Singapore: Ministry of Information and the Arts.
(Call no.: R SING 959.57 SMCFFS) 

Tang, K. F. (1988, March 6). Aids hits home. The Straits Times, p. 1

The information in this article is valid as at 1998 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Politics and Government>>Health
AIDS (Disease)--Singapore
Health and medicine>>Diseases>>Immune system diseases>>AIDS/HIV

Librarian Recommendations
>> National AIDS Control Programme
>> Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC)


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