November 9, 2010
The National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases is one of six National Collaborating Centres for Public Health funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada. The six centres form a network across Canada, each hosted by a different institution and focusing on a different topic in public health. NCCID is hosted by the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), located in Winnipeg.
Outreach & Awareness
 Outreach Guide
NCCID recently completed work on an Outreach Planning Guide. The Guide focuses on the challenges of planning and managing an outreach program aimed at delivering programs and services to populations vulnerable to HIV and sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBI). The Outreach Planning Guide resulted from HIV/STI knowledge and exchange forums that NCCID hosted in 2008. Discussion at the forums highlighted the need for a national perspective on outreach. The Guide’s primary target audience is public health practitioners who plan and/or manage outreach programs. Project Manager, Elsabé du Plessis is now in the process of conducting workshops across Canada to introduce the Guide and to bring outreach professionals together to share their knowledge and expertise. The local evidence and lessons learned at the workshops will help to strengthen the content of the Guide. We are also consulting with workshop participants on potential next steps, both with respect to the Guide itself and what is learned about outreach in general. We will continue to update you on this initiative, particularly as the Outreach Planning Guide develops further into a web-based learning tool.
Antibiotic Awareness Day - November 18, 2010
Mark your calendars! November 18 is Antibiotic Awareness Day and NCCID is pleased to partner with organizations across Canada to promote prudent use of antibiotics. NCCID, the Public Health Agency of Canada, AMMI Canada, CHICA - Canada, CFID, and CPS are joining to launch the first Antibiotic Awareness Day in Canada. The one-day campaign will focus on the relationship between doctors and patients and will offer printed and online tools to help fight the threat of antibiotic resistant infections.
Be sure to visit the new Antibiotic Awareness Day website: www.AntibioticAwareness.ca on Nov. 18 when Canadian experts will discuss the latest information on antibiotic resistance. The live webcasts will include nine short presentations – six in English and three in French. Topics include community education and prevention, antibiotic use and resistance in hospitals, and current Canadian programs and surveillance data. In Winnipeg, a local presentation will also be held at the University of Manitoba on Nov. 19, 2010 – a day after Antibiotic Awareness Day.
Purple Paper on "Options for the Control of Influenza VII Conference"
For highlights from the Options for the Control of Influenza VII Conference, held in Hong Kong SAR, China in September, read our latest edition of the Purple Paper. This is the first of a two-part series. It presents some of the conference highlights, with an emphasis on the 2009 pandemic response and future pandemic preparedness.
Check out the articles and conference listings below for more of the latest infectious disease news and coming events.
Sincerely,
Margaret Fast, MD, FRCPC
Scientific Director
NCCID
Infectious Diseases in the News
To read more infectious diseases news, visit our website.
Insights into the Evolution and Emergence of a Novel Infectious Disease
Many zoonotic, novel infectious diseases in humans appear as sporadic infections with spatially and temporally restricted outbreaks, as seen with influenza A(H5N1). Adaptation is often a key factor for successfully establishing sustained human-to-human transmission. This research paper uses simple mathematical models to describe different adaptation scenarios with particular reference to spatial heterogeneity within the human population. The paper presents analytical expressions for the probability of emergence per introduction, as well as the waiting time to a successful emergence event. READ MORE.
Comparison of Survey Methods in Norovirus Outbreak Investigation, Oregon, USA, 2009
Internet-based questionnaires are increasingly used during investigations of outbreaks; however, compared with telephone interviews, a differential response rate on the basis of exposures or outcomes might bias results. On Sept. 24, 2009, the Oregon Public Health Division was notified of an outbreak of gastroenteritis that occurred among participants of a 475-mile bicycle ride during Sept. 13 - 19, 2009. Five of six riders who independently reported illness to the event organizer and provided stool specimens were positive for norovirus (GII) infection. In responding to the outbreak, researchers administered a questionnaire using Internet- and telephone-based methods to directly compare data with regard to response rates, attack rates, and risk factors for illness. READ MORE.
Upcoming Conferences
TB: Immunology, Cell Biology and Novel Vaccination Strategies
January 15 to 20, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia
International Meeting on Emerging Diseases and Surveillance (IMED 2011)
February 4 to 7, 2011
Vienna, Austria
1st International One Health Congress
February 14 to 16, 2011
Victoria, Australia
2011 CHSPR Health Policy Conference
February 22 to 23, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia
CADTH: 2011 Symposium
April 3 to 5, 2011
Vancouver, British Columbia
IHRA International Harm Reduction Association
April 3 to 7, 2010
Beirut, Lebanon
AMMI CACMID
April 7 to 10, 2011
Montreal, Quebec
NCC Website Links
National Collaborating Centres for Public Health NCCPH
National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases NCCID
National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health NCCEH
National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health NCCAH
National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools NCCMT
National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy NCCHPP
National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health NCCDH
Visit the NCCID at www.nccid.ca
Any comments or suggestions? Email us at nccid@icid.com.
Production of this e-newsletter has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Public Health Agency of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
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