IMED, abstracts

[kent nickell]

Lastly, there were several hundred abstracts presented as poster sessions. These were divided into 13 groups.

http://imed.isid.org/symposia.shtml

I thought I'd give a sampling of 6 of them from 4 groups....

-Surveillance of Emerging Diseases in the 21st Century

Enhancing Epidemic Surveillance and Response Systems in Developing Countries: Evaluation Framework and Pilot Application, Johns Hopkins Univ/Applied Physics Lab, US Naval Med Research Unit-2, Jakarta, US Naval Med Research Center Detachment, Lima, Peru, DoD-Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Background: Electronic surveillance systems (ESS) could improve early disease identification and containment for pandemic influenza and other emerging infections. This project examines the use and evaluation of ESS in resource poor areas, focusing initially on pandemic influenza and the Early Warining Outbreak Recognition System (EWORS), a hospital-based ESS in 4 Southeast Asian countries and Peru.

Methods: Information is gathered through questionnaires provided to system operators; on-site system observation. surveillance data analysis; and interviews with system personnel, and country and on-site international public health officials.

Conclusions: This pilot evaluation identified needed improvements to EWORS and modifications to ESS evaluation frameworks. The longer-term goal of this project is to iteratively apply and improve an ESS evaluation framework to varied resource-poor settings, and to define the potential role of ESS in epidemic detection and response in those environments.


Capacity Building and Diagnostic Support for Avian Influenza in Sub-Saharan Countries. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Legnaro, Padova, Italy

Background: This OIE/FAO Reference lab delivered training and provided diagnostic assistance to over 40 countries in Africa

Results: These training efforts in developing countries led to personal contacts between African and European scientists. This resulted in improved networking and in the provision of diagnostic reagents and protocols, all of which have contributed to facilitation the diagnosis of H5N1 in Africa.


-Emerging Disease Detection

The Role in Influenza Surveillance of the United States' Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System DoD-GEIS, Silver Spring, MD, USA, AFIOH, Brooks City-Base, Tx, USA, NHRC, San Diego, CA, USA

Background: The US DOD GEIS was created in response to the June 1996 Presidential Decision Directive National Science and Technology Council-7 that stated that emerging infections threaten national and global security.

Results: To date, a large network of influenza surveillance sites in the US and overseas has been developed with a total of 273 sites in 56 countries, and many large-deck ships of the US Naval Fleet; 38 sites in 9 countries are to be added in 2007.


-Emerging Vectorborne Diseases in Humans and Amimals

Clinical Features of Dengue Infections, and Predictors of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in Singapore Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, Singapore, National Healthcare Group, Singapore, Singapore

Background: In 2004, Singapore experienced its worst dengue outbreak in 30 years with 9,459 notified cases, of which 80% were hospitalized.

Results: The study included 2,144 laboratory-diagnosed cases. Of these, 140 (6.5%) were classified as DHF. On presentation to hospital, the mean age among DF and DHF patients were not significantly different (35.1 compared to 32.3 years respectively) DHF patients had more frequent dehydration, lower mean white cell count and lower protein counts.


-Models of Disease Surveillance, Detection and Reporting

Evaluation of DENGUEINFO as Early Detection and Dengue Reporting System Tool in Indonesia US Naval Med Research Unit 2, Jakarta, Indonesia; National Communicable Disease Centre, Arbovirosis Sub-Directorate, Indonesia Ministry of Health, Jakarta, Indonesia

Background: Dengue poses a growing public health problem in Indonesia. From 2000-2005 the number of dengue cases increased almost three-fold from 33,443 to 95,274 and spread to communities that had never reported infections.

Conclusion: Through standardized data collection tools dengueinfo may provide a simple but robust surveillance tool for timely monitoring and analysis of local dengue transmission in Indonesia. The next step in this project is to conduct an assessment of the efficacy of this pilot surveillance system to control dengue in the 8 provinces.


Tracing Severe Avian Influenza A H5N1 Virus Outbreaks by Climate Changes and Wild Bird's Migration Institute of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, NTU, Taipei City, Taiwan, Dept of Atmos Sci, College of Science, NTU, Taipei City, Taiwan

Results: Outbreaks of H5N1 from Turkey to France between November 2005 and March 2006 were found to have the most striking temperature drops.

Conclusion: Our findings imply that regional weather monitoring may serve as an integral part of a bird flu surveillance system. Using GIS facilitates to explore the correlations among the spatial and temporal patterns of climate change, outbreaks occurrence and wild bird's migration.

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: IMED, abstracts

http://imed.isid.org/symposia.shtml


Results: Outbreaks of H5N1 from Turkey to France between November 2005 and March 2006 were found to have the most striking temperature drops.

Conclusion: Our findings imply that regional weather monitoring may serve as an integral part of a bird flu surveillance system. Using GIS facilitates to explore the correlations among the spatial and temporal patterns of climate change, outbreaks occurrence and wild bird's migration.

''explore the correlations among the spatial and temporal patterns of climate change, outbreaks occurrence and wild bird's migration''

This conclusion directly affect us, we should now observe the climatic conditions in affected countries.

Striking temperature drops is a significative element of the equation.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: IMED, abstracts

Thank you Kent for everything.

"Emerging Vectorborne Diseases in Humans and Animals"

1) What other diseases were mentioned besides denque?

2) What vectors were discussed?

3) Which diseases appear to be the most threatening for a) CFR b) spread?

4) Was vector control discussed?


Thanks.

 

[JJackson]

Re: IMED, abstracts

The section regarding temperature drop which caught Snowy's attention also caught mine. As I understood it at the time long range migratory birds carried Clade 2,3 (Qinghai) west and a cold snap caused them, or other waterfowl infected by them, to make a further hop. This led to deaths in some unwitting sentinel species (mainly swans) and some commercial poultry losses. Did this merely change the location of these losses from a continental to a more maritime climatic zone or did it increase the clinical presentations? If the latter did the researches speculate as to why? The dead birds were predominately in the warmer areas (post hop) and it was unclear from the reports I read if they were local birds infected by refuges from the freeze or the refugees themselves.

 

[kent nickell]

Re: IMED, abstracts

JJackson, can't fully answer your question but this is from Handbook of Birds of the World vol 1 on mute swan movement "Truly wild populations mainly migratory, particularly where displaced by cold weather; spend winter in more temperate zones. European and feral populations mostly sedentary, males defending territory for most of year." I think Dr Capua mentioned that there was an unusual freeze in the Baltic Sea at that time displacing Mute Swans.


F1, yellow fever, esp urban yellow fever, rift valley fever, chikungunya, tick-borne encephalitis virus, west nile disease, bluetongue, There were 31 abstracts in that section (session 16) http://imed.isid.org/Downloads/IMED2007_AbstrAuth.pdf

One article (16.007) Is Mosquito Control a Lost Cause Against Dengue, Chikungunya and Yellow Fever? P. Reiter, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France had this

Half a century ago, WHO/PAHO announced that Aedes aegypti, the principal urban vector of dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever, had been eradicated from 22 countries in the Americas. Fifteen years later, the mosquito had regained its abundance in many regions, and dengue became an increasingly serious public health problem,. In the future, chikungunya may present a new problem, but the greatest danger is the potential for urban yellow fever.

Many factors, including the increasing prevalence of infected containers and the quantum leap in motility of virus via air travel, make Ae. aegypti a formidable adversay throughout the tropics. Innovative approaches are required before effective control can become a reality.

 

[Snowy Owl]

Re: IMED, abstracts

Good morning Kent and thank you for reporting on this important symposium.

As you know, I have started to focus H5N1 at the end of 2003, but since the Chickungunya outbreak of La R?union in the Indian Ocean in 2005, I am being drag by emerging diseases.

In other words, since a year, mostly, what I receive and what I query upon is now more directed towards the virulence of Emerging Diseases. That doesn't mean that H5N1 is on the back burner for me, but Emerging Diseases had definitively grab a large portion of my time and my work.

Did you feel this trend at the Symposium ??

Siincere thanks to take the time,

Snowy

 

[kent nickell]

Re: IMED, abstracts

I didn't really pick up on any trend but that's an interesting question. It seems that the interest in H5N1 was a driving force for the conference and maybe the renewed overall interest in public health. But people were definitely worried also about problems such as dengue, malaria, TB, HIV. Also there was worry about Nipah virus increasing its transmission and urban yellow fever.

Also interesting things like the US and others helping to increase lab capacity in former Soviet states and Africa primarily to be on the watch for avian flu and other global emerging diseases but the increased infrastructure also allows for more attention to be paid to problems of more local interest such as measles.

 

[JJackson]

Re: IMED, abstracts

It may just be the influence of this site but I have been more aware of the out-of-the-blue zoonotics over the last few years. Had I sat and thought about it a few decades ago I would have realised that the diseases of man must have either evolved over eons along with man, or elsewhere and then jumped the species barrier. Until HIV/AIDS emerged I doubt I ever had cause to think about. SARS nearly got out of the box and Ebola is the tabloid favourite; but what comes next? I have read of an expected increase in the likelihood of such events due to the increased interaction between man - and his attendant livestock - and wild animals and their endemic diseases. This would seem logical as the increased pressure for land and natural-resources is forcing loggers, miners and farmers deeper into our remaining wildernesses. The greatest terrestrial biodiversity is to be found in the rain forests and I know of no reason why this should not also apply to diseases. In the Amazon basin we have gold mining, slash & burn farming, ranching and logging all applying pressure. Mining and drilling tend to be localised but the other manifestations of population-pressure apply, to some extent, across the rest of the world?s equatorial forests.