AI leads Singapore's infectious disease fight

Singapore is using artificial intelligence, or AI, to help watch for dangerous diseases before they spread. The Communicable Diseases Agency, known as the CDA, is testing AI tools that can read health reports from around the world and flag possible outbreaks. The agency's chief executive, Vernon Lee, says this technology could help protect Singapore and save lives. The CDA opened in April 2025 and is already working on several new ways to keep the country healthy.

AI can do more than just find outbreaks. It can also suggest how doctors and health workers should respond to them. Lee says the technology will work alongside tools the CDA already uses, like genomic sequencing — which studies the DNA of viruses — and wastewater surveillance, which checks sewage water for signs of disease. Together, these tools give health workers a much clearer picture of what is happening.

The agency is also looking at other types of AI, such as natural language processing, which helps computers understand human writing. These tools will help the CDA study data faster and build better models to predict how diseases might spread. Lee believes this will lead to smarter, faster decisions when health threats arise. Training staff to use these technologies is also a big part of the plan.

Even with all this technology, Lee is clear that people are still the heart of the CDA's work. He says AI can take over some routine tasks, freeing up staff to focus on deeper analysis and policy decisions. 'So we see that using this technology can actually help us to move our capabilities forward a lot quicker,' Lee said. This fits with Singapore's national plan to use AI in healthcare, which was announced in February.

The CDA was first suggested by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung in 2023. It officially opened in April 2025 to bring together efforts to detect, prevent, and control infectious diseases. The agency combined work that was previously shared between several government bodies, including the Ministry of Health and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Today, it has more than 400 staff working in areas like disease tracking, case investigations, and health policy.

In its first year, the CDA has launched several important programs. It introduced a pandemic preparedness and response framework in July 2025 to help Singapore react quickly if a major disease outbreak occurs. It also added new vaccines for shingles and pneumococcal disease to Singapore's national immunisation schedule. Another major effort is the One Health master plan, which looks at the connections between human health, animal health, and the environment.

Several infectious diseases have been in the news recently, both in Singapore and around the world. In April, an outbreak of hantavirus was found on a Dutch cruise ship, and two Singapore residents were on board. In May, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency after an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo killed more than 200 people. Closer to home, Singapore recorded 36 measles cases by the end of May 2026 — already more than the 27 cases reported for all of last year.

When an outbreak happens, the CDA works quickly to gather information and assess the risk to Singapore. Lee says the agency tries to give people clear, calm advice without causing unnecessary panic. 'I think it is a balance between not panicking unnecessarily, but also being alert,' he said. The agency's plans can change as new information comes in, which Lee says is an important part of being prepared.

Being connected to global health networks is one of the best ways to get early warnings about new diseases, Lee said. The CDA also works with international organisations to learn more about how diseases start and spread. These partnerships help Singapore stay ahead of threats from other parts of the world. Lee sees this teamwork as a key part of the country's defence against future pandemics.

Lee has spent more than 20 years fighting infectious diseases. He decided to dedicate his career to this field after the 2003 SARS outbreak, which killed 33 people in Singapore. One of those who died was vascular surgeon Alexandre Chao, a mentor to Lee, who came home from a trip to help fight SARS and lost his life to it. 'It really hit me that infectious diseases, that people thought were a thing of the past, can hit home on a very real basis,' Lee said.