The Department of Infectious Diseases is committed to diagnose, treat and prevent diverse infectious diseases including bacterial, viral, TB, fungal and parasitic infections. The dedicated team provides compassionate care, managing infections acquired through community exposure, travel, occupational or healthcare settings.
Common conditions include:
- Dengue
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
- COVID-19
- Community-acquired and hospital-acquired infections
- Travel-related infections
- Infectious Exposure Management
The team also anchors outbreak clinical functions in the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID). Experiences in outbreak management include mpox (2019; 2022 to present), measles (2019 to present) and COVID-19 (2020 to present).
Our Services
Antimicrobial Stewardship Programme
The antimicrobial stewardship programme looks at:
- Institutional guidelines for appropriate use of antibiotics
- Computer-based surveillance of antibiotic usage, resistance and incidence of multi-dug resistant organisms
Hematology-ID services
The specialised hematology ID team lead efforts in delivering patient-centred and evidence-based infectious disease care for patients with hematological conditions. This is part of a multi-disciplinary approach to optimising patient infection outcomes in this vulnerable population.
HIV Programme
Established by a multidisciplinary team, the NCID Enhanced HIV Programme (EHIVP) provides high-quality, evidence-based clinical care for people living with HIV in Singapore. The team cares for the country's largest cohort of people living with HIV. In line with the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets to end the HIV epidemic, the EHIVP aims to achieve:
- 95% or more of all people living with HIV will know their diagnosis;
- 95% or more of all people diagnosed with HIV infection will receive antiretroviral therapy (ART); and
- 95% or more of all people receiving ART will achieve durable viral suppression.
- All people living with HIV across the continuum to enjoy good quality of life.
Infection Prevention and Control Programme
The infection prevention and control programme aims to maintain a well-organised and effective hospital-wide program to identify and reduce the risks of infection among patients, staff and visitors. It focuses on developing and implementing policies, strategies, providing training and education, conducting research, and promoting environmental hygiene. The programme also oversees the optimisation of campus isolation facilities. In addition, the programme formulates targeted strategies to reduce the incidence and acquisition of Hospital-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (MDROs). It is also involved in pandemic preparedness in terms of guideline development and staff training, as well as planning of new infrastructure on campus.
Intensive Care Multi-Disciplinary Infectious Diseases Service (IMI)
IMI engages various stakeholders in ICU for patients with complex ID issues to come up with individualised patient-centred management plans. The IMI team adopts a dedicated, multi-disciplinary approach to engage, empower and support the attending team of ICU.
National Tuberculosis Screening Centre (NTBSC)
The NTBSC provides dedicated outpatient services for tuberculosis (TB) screening and prevention. The centre focuses on early detection through comprehensive screening programmes, particularly for high-risk groups and close contacts and provides preventive treatment for latent TB infection. As a key component of Singapore’s TB control strategy, the centre works in close collaboration with other stakeholders to support national TB prevention efforts.
Outbreak Response and Readiness
The ID department works with relevant stakeholders on ensuring outbreak readiness, including strengthening and writing SOPs and protocols, continuing training and outbreak preparedness exercises, and providing relevant professional inputs to policies and plans.
Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Therapy (OPAT)
OPAT is a specialised outpatient service at Tan Tock Seng Hospital that enables patients to complete their prescribed intravenous antibiotic treatment safely and conveniently. Antibiotics are given through a cannula or catheter (thin, soft and flexible tube) that is inserted into the vein. During the course of treatment, regular reviews will be arranged depending on the antibiotics prescribed. Whether at TTSH's OPAT clinic or in the comfort of their own home, patients can receive professional care without requiring overnight hospital stays.
Travel Medicine
At Travelers Health and Vaccination Clinic (THVC), the team of doctors and nurses will advise the patient on vaccination needs and suitability to receive recommended vaccines, depending on the patient’s age, health conditions, destination and occupation. The clinic also offers a comprehensive range of vaccinations and immunisations for the general well-being of individuals, and travelers. The clinic also assists with statutory health checks that require vaccination advice.
