Epidemiology of SARS in Singapore
SARS hit Singapore in early 2003. But what began as a few isolated cases
swiftly turned into a major public health emergency within a few short weeks. In
early March 2003 the first Singaporean to contract SARS was hospitalized upon her
return from Hong Kong. As it turned out, she had contracted SARS from a supercarrier
while both were staying on the same floor of the M Hotel. That supercarrier
– a physician from China – was later identified by the World Health
Organization (WHO) to be the primary source of infection for multiple cases of
SARS worldwide (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2003). Back in
Singapore, this first SARS victim quickly infected 21 others. In late July 2003,
among all SARS affected countries, Singapore reported 238 probable cases (seeTable 2). By the time, Singapore was removed from the WHO advisory list on 31
May 2003, 205 (86%) had recovered while 33 (14%) had died. A further breakdown
reveals that 8 cases (3%) were infected while abroad whereas 97 cases (41%) were
healthcare workers (WHO, 2003a).