singapore – With the ever-present risk of new pandemics, The Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) is investigating CDA Chief Executive Officer Vernon Lee spoke about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in disease surveillance.
He said the technology could complement existing surveillance strategies by examining international disease reports to help detect and assess potential outbreaks.
Mr Lee, who is also an adjunct professor at the National University of Singapore’s Soe Swee Hock School of Public Health, said he could also recommend possible responses to these outbreaks.
The introduction of CDA’s AI capabilities will complement existing surveillance technologies such as genome sequencing and wastewater monitoring.
The agency is also exploring other applications of AI, such as natural language processing and agent AI frameworks, to enhance data analysis and infectious disease modeling capabilities.
We aim to leverage these technologies to enhance disease trend monitoring and prediction, and ultimately provide support for more timely and evidence-based policy decisions.
Lee pointed out that CDA is also adopting technology in other areas, such as a new platform with the Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve data notification processes. National Institutes of Public Health with systems that integrate state-of-the-art diagnostic technology, whole genome sequencing, and data sharing between laboratories.
However, he stressed that humans remain essential to the CDA’s work and that AI has the potential to free up staff to focus on more analytical and policy-making activities using the data provided by the technology.
“So we’ve found that by using this technology, we can actually move our capabilities forward more quickly,” Lee said, adding that this means training staff on how to use it.
Lee’s comments come after healthcare was identified as: One of the Republic’s four national AI missions in February.
He spoke to The Straits Times at the CDA office in Novena Square in an interview to mark CDA’s first year of operation.
The CDA was first brought up by Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung during parliamentary deliberations on the COVID-19 White Paper in 2023, and was established in April 2025 to unite public health efforts for the detection, prevention and control of infectious diseases.
The body, which is chaired by Health Director-General Kenneth Mak, is headed by Mr Lee, who previously served as NCID director-general and has been involved in Singapore’s response to various diseases, including the 2016 Zika outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The CDA is Singapore’s first new statutory board since the Home Team Science and Technology Agency was launched in December 2019.
This agency integrated functions that had been dispersed between the Ministry of Health, the Health Promotion Commission, and the National Center for Infectious Diseases.
We currently have over 400 staff across areas such as surveillance, epidemiology, case investigation, contact tracing and policy development.
Lee noted that the agency has undertaken several initiatives over the past year, including the introduction of the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Framework in July 2025.
The CDA also worked to strengthen the Republic’s vaccination efforts, adding new vaccines against shingles and pneumococcus to the national immunization schedule, he added.
We also launched the One Health Master Plan, an interagency initiative that recognizes the connections between human, animal, and environmental health.
In recent months, several infectious diseases have made headlines both in Singapore and abroad.
In April, a cluster of hantavirus infections was confirmed on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius, with two Singapore residents among those on board.
And in May, the World Health Organization declared an outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 200 people have died from the disease in the country. As a public health emergency of international concern.
Closer to home, a total of 36 measles cases have been reported as of the end of May in 2026, exceeding the 27 cases recorded in all of last year. Mass screening for tuberculosis carried out in Bedok after three clusters were reported in Bedok area.
If such an incident occurs, the CDA will seek to obtain as much information as possible about the outbreak to assess the risk to Singapore, Mr Lee said.
“Based on that assessment, we will take the necessary steps to protect Singapore and Singaporeans, and also to inform everyone of the risks posed by these diseases,” he said.
“I think it’s important to strike a balance between not panicking unnecessarily and being cautious,” he added, noting that such an assessment could change as the situation changes or new information comes to light.
Such flexibilities built into the Republic’s pandemic preparedness framework will help Singapore cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, and will also help it deal with another pandemic should it arise, he added.
The best defense is to work with global surveillance systems that can provide early warning when such infections occur, he said.
He added that the CDA is also partnering with international organizations to learn how to better detect signals, as well as deepen our understanding of how such diseases occur and the risks they pose.
Mr Lee, who has more than 20 years of experience in the field, said the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak here in 2003, which killed 33 people, made him decide to dedicate his career to fighting infectious diseases.
Lee, a young doctor at the time, looked up to vascular surgeon Alexander Chao as his mentor and said he knew people who had died from the disease.
In 2003, Chao returned from a vacation in the United States to combat SARS, but died shortly thereafter.
“I was really struck by how infectious diseases that people thought were a thing of the past have a very real possibility, both at a population level and at an individual level,” he said.
The past 20 years have been busier than he imagined, Lee said.
“Unfortunately, disease never sleeps. Diseases are always looking for ways to infect and spread people, so we need to stay informed and stay one step ahead of the diseases we face.”
