: Indian-origin doctor known for stopping spread of communicable diseases via air travel dies #IndiaNEWS #Insights An Indian-origin doctor, who became internationally renowned as an expert on stopping

Indian-origin doctor known for stopping spread of communicable diseases via air travel dies #IndiaNEWS #Insights
An Indian-origin doctor, who became internationally renowned as an expert on stopping the spread of communicable diseases via air travel, has died, a media report said.

Dr Jarnail Singh, 67, was the first chairman of the Civil Aviation Medical Board of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and headed several other local and global aviation medicine organisations.

He coordinated the international response during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 that allowed the aviation sector to get back on its feet, the Straits Times reported.

Dr Singh also used his expertise to chair the CAAS ultra-long-range task force, which put Singapore on the map by launching the worlds first non-stop ultra-long-range commercial flight from Singapore to New York in 2004.

Singh died on February 6 in Singapore. His death has prompted tributes from those in the aviation and medical sectors worldwide.

Professor Chew Chin Hin, an emeritus consultant at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, said Dr Singh had a large part to play in establishing aviation medicine as a speciality in Singapore.

He had focused on training younger medical examiners who are responsible for health assessments of pilots and air traffic controllers.

Aviation medicine has advanced immensely in recent decades. Certainly, Jarnail has contributed in a large measure to the training and in establishing high standards of the speciality, to the benefit of the many aviation medicine physicians we have today, said Prof Chew.

Internationally, he was greatly respected as a much sought-after authority for expert advice. He will be greatly missed, the report quoted Prof Chew as saying.

Aviation medicine focuses on the safety and health of air crew and passengers and tackles the spread of disease through air travel, which makes pandemics a transborder and transcontinental event.

In an interview with the Singapore Medical Association in 2015, Dr Singh described humans as the weak link in the entire safety chain, which aviation medicine hopes to strengthen.

He added that one of his proudest achievements was the build-up of the Singapore air forces aeromedical centre, once using a video of himself losing consciousness in a training centrifuge to convince the then Minister of Defence that it was a necessary investment for the Republics pilots.

Dr Singh was posted to Singapores local air bases as a doctor while he was serving his national service, which heavily influenced his decision to specialise in the aviation sector.

Dr Michelle Millar of the air navigation bureau of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), said, With the passing of Dr Jarnail Singh, aviation has lost one of its regulatory pioneers in managing fatigue risks.