In 1911, another epidemic swept through China. That time, the world came together April 27, 2020 – Posted in: In The News

Paul French In 1911, a deadly epidemic spread through China and threatened to become a pandemic. Its origins appeared to be related to the trade in wild animals, but at the time no one was sure. Lockdowns, quarantine measures, the wearing of masks, travel restrictions, the mass cremation of victims, and border controls were deployed to try to lower the infection rate. Yet more than 60,000 people died in modern-day northeast China, making it one…

How Malaysian plague fighter Wu Lien-teh laid down lessons for Wuhan virus – Posted in: In The News

Toh Han Shih A century ago, Wu stopped a pneumonic plague that killed 60,000 in northeast China using preventive measures considered ahead of their time Wu’s lessons still hold relevance in modern medicine today, a Singapore professor says As the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise in China and elsewhere, the efforts of a Malaysian doctor who ended a pneumonic plague that killed 60,000 in northeast China a century ago bears lessons for the current pandemic,…

Wu Lien-Teh: Malaysia’s little-known plague virus fighter – Posted in: In The News

Wong Chun Wai HIS name does not exist in our school history books and he has never been accorded the recognition that he truly deserves – and what’s more, he was a Malaysian. In the fall of 1910, a pneumonic plague which originated in Russian Siberia, broke out in Harbin, the north eastern region of China. The epidemic spread so quickly that within four months, it claimed 60,000 lives. This is perhaps a good time…

WU LIEN-TEH The Father of Modern Medicine in China November 14, 2019 – Posted in: In The News

Koh King Kee This article first appeared in our February 2013 issue.In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we put together for you in this issue some of our most memorable articles. Virtually unknown to most Malaysians, Penangite Dr Wu Lien-Teh was a highly respected epidemiologist and plague fighter in the international medical fraternity. His life story and his heroic feats remain the stuff of legend. Born in Penang in 1879 to a family of immigrants from Taishan,…