ABSTRACT
The ‘Asian flu’ epidemic of 1957 discussed in the chapter showed the limits of British-sanctioned decolonisation in Singapore after the Second World War. At a time when the late-colonial state was undertaking a number of crucial medical reforms, the 1957 epidemic was remarkable for how little the Labour Front government attempted to do to stem it. As its leaders dismissed any active response to the epidemic as misguided and unfeasible, the people of Singapore, especially the low-income urban population, suffered greatly from the outbreak. It was rather the improved healthcare system that successfully identified the flu virus and treated a large number of patients, but it still had to be augmented by volunteer doctors and nurses.
