Session Programme

Parallel session

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Session PS07/room 3

Epidemics, Emerging Infectious Diseases and Non-Traditional Surveillance

Chair: Sarah Dry, Research Officer, STEPS Centre, Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom

Surveillance tools are critical for identifying and controlling emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. However, classical surveillance tools often fail in situations of rapid change, unstable governance and uneven infrastructure, precisely those situations out of which new diseases are likely to emerge. This session explores the significance of non-traditional approaches to surveillance, particularly those that draw on local expertise, in capturing more fully the complex social, technological, environmental and ecological dynamics at work. Panellists will share their experience with developing, using, and witnessing the implementation of such approaches as participatory epidemiology, internet and communications-based tools using mobile phones, web-based mapping and information sharing, and mixed surveillance using both event-based and classical surveillance tools in a variety of settings, such as Indonesia, Sudan and Somalia.

Non-Traditional Surveillance and Resilient Responses to Epidemics

Sarah Dry, Research Officer, STEPS Centre, Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom

Institutional Approaches to HPAI Surveillance and Control: One Size Doesn't Fit All

Jeff Mariner, Senior Epidemiologist, International Livestock Research Institute, Kenya

Using Technological Advances to Simplify Emergency Surveillance for Remote or Inaccessible Settings

Abiy Tamrat, Medical Director, Médecins sans frontières, Switzerland

Participation - Why and with Whom? Avian Influenza and Participatory Disease Surveillance in Indonesia

Paul Foster, Research Officer, Steps Centre, Institute of Development Studies, United Kingdom