Infectious Disease Technical Segment
Winter e-Newsletter
Updates from September 2014 – January 2015
Dear Colleagues,
Below you will find the Infectious Disease Technical Segment’s newsletter to members of its Community of Excellence (COE). In addition, the Technical Segment circulates news items and updates on state of the art practices in HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB through our ID COE list serve, keeps a compilation of Abt’s HIV, Malaria and TB capability statements, and are available to link you to appropriate technical assistance in project implementation and proposal development on relevant topics. Please email Elizabeth Magnusson if you would like become a member of our community of excellence.
Webinar
In March the ID Tech Segment together with the RH/FP Tech Segment will launch a webinar discussion series and we are looking for topics from the field. Is there a technical area you need more information on? Or perhaps there are project strategy or implementation issues you would like input on? Let us know and we will set up a discussion at a time convenient for international staff.
Recent Conferences and Events:
· Abt Commemorates World AIDS Day 2014
On December 1, 2014, Abt colleagues in the U.S. gathered to commemorate World AIDS Day 2014. The Bethesda office hosted a dynamic program featuring Meghan Davies, Director of Community Health for Whitman-Walker Health (WW) and Adam Tenner, Executive Director for Metro Teen AIDS (MTA). The event was webcast to the other U.S. offices. Both Ms. Davies and Mr. Tenner have worked extensively on prevention, education, and health promotion activities for vulnerable populations, including adolescents and African American women. Any staff who missed the event or are interested in how these two organizations are making a real-world impact in the D.C. Metro Area are encouraged to visit the websites:
· The American Public Health Association (APHA) 2014 Annual Meeting was held in New Orleans, Louisiana from November 15-19. The following were IHD’s presentations related to infectious disease:
o “Impact of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) on Malaria Vector Bionomics in IRS Districts Compared to a Non-IRS District in Northern Uganda.” Michael Okia. James Kirunda, Dr. J.B. Rwakimari, Dr. Betty Mpeka. Denis Ambayo, Ranjith Alwis, David Oguttu, Albert P. Okui. Poster presented by Beth Brennan. Link
o “Improving the efficiency of Indoor Residual Spraying to protect rural Ethiopia from malaria: Comparison of two implementation models.” Michele Abbott, Ben Johns, Lena Kolyada. Link
o “Knowledge and practice on malaria diagnosis and treatment among private health care providers in Ethiopia.” Mesele Damte. Link
Save the Date! APHA 2015 will be in Chicago, IL from October 31-November 4. The call for abstracts for oral and poster sessions is already open! Click here for more information about how to submit.
· The 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) was held from November 2-6, 2014 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Abt had a strong presence at the conference with 10 poster presentations and 1 symposium:
o “Can Health Management Information System (HMIS) data be used to make Indoor Residual Spray policy decisions in Benin?” Evelyne S. Alyko Chaffa, Elana Fiekowsky, Joel Sodjinou, Benjamin Johns, Allison Belemvire, Kristen George, Christen Fornadel. Link
o “Underpinning sustainable vector control through informed insecticide resistance management.” Edward Thomsen, Clare Strode, Kay Hemmings, Angela Hughes, Emmanuel Chanda, Mulenga Musapa, Mulakwa Kamuliwo, Faustina Phiri, Lucy Muzia, Javan Chanda, Alister Kandyata, Brian Chirwa, Kathleen Poer, Janet Hemingway, Hilary Ranson, Michael Coleman. Link
o “Impact of Indoor Residual Spraying on Entomological Indices of Malaria Transmission in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District in the Northern Savannah zone of Ghana.” Samuel Dadzie, Sylvester Coleman, Peter Mumba, Aklilu Seyoum, Philip Ricks, Daniel Szumlas, Paul Psychas, Jacob Williams, Maxwell Appawu, Daniel Boakye. Link
o “Multi-country profile of insecticide resistance on malaria vectors in the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI/USAID) supported countries under the Africa Indoor Residual Spraying Project.” Aklilu Seyoum, Dereje Dengela, Bradford Lucas, Allison Belemvire, Kristen George, Christen Fornadel. Link
o “Population Dynamics of Major Malaria Vectors and the Impact of Indoor Residual Spraying on Entomological Inoculation Rate in Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria.” Petrus U. Inyama, Lazarus M. Samdi, Henry Nsa, Nduka O. Iwuchukwu1, Lena Kolyada, Aklilu Seyoum, Dereje Dengela, Bradford Lucas, Funto Adewusi, Joseph Ifeanyi Okeke, Christen Fornadel. Link
o “Rosie the Spray Team Leader, Expanding Opportunities for Women in Malaria Prevention.” Jennifer Burnett, Jane Coleman, Nicole de Gier. Link
o [Symposium] “A total market approach to diarrhoea management.” Vicki MacDonald.
o “Community Health Worker Time Use: Method Evaluation and Time Use Findings in Malawi.” Emily Carter, Andrew Marsh, Spy Munthali, Gowokani Chirwa, Neff Walker, Ben Johns, Agbessi Amouzou. Link
o “Improved Environmental Compliance and Operational Efficiency using Mobile Soak Pits.” Peter J. Chandonait. Link
o “Longitudinal Impact of IRS on Malaria Parasitaemia in Northern Ghana.” Benjamin Abuaku, Collins Ahorlu, Philip Ricks, Paul Psychas, Peter Mumba, David Mensah, Sedzro Mensah, William Sackey, Achuyt Bhattarai, Kwadwo Koram. Link
o “Insecticide resistance status in Anopheles gambiae s.l. following the scale up of malaria control interventions in Rwanda.” Emmanuel Hakizimana, Gad Iranzi, Dunia Munyakanage, Rhodaly Muthoni, Corine Karema. Link
Save the Date! The ASTMH 64th Annual Meeting will be October 25-29, 2015 in Philadelphia, PA. Call for Symposia is open! Submission deadline: February 18, 2015. Call for abstracts is expected in late February (submission deadline: April 8, 2015). Those who are interested are encouraged to visit the website for the latest updates.
· The 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health took place from October 28-November 1, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. Sponsored by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, the event drew over 3,300 delegates from 134 countries—the largest turnout in conference history. The theme was “Community-driven Solutions for the Next Generation.” Abt was featured in several presentations:
o [Poster] “The GxAlert Initiative: Connecting Rapid TB and HIV Diagnoses with Improved Health System Responses”, authored by Kehinde Agbaiyero, Jeff Takle, Leah Ekbladh, and Martha Benezet.
o [Oral Presentation] “Real-time Quality Improvement in Nigeria: On the spot color-coded automated-feedback generated in Smartphone for TB supportive supervision in Nigeria.” K Agbaiyero, L Ekbladh, O Adeleke, A Dieng, JO Obasanya, T Odusote, O Oladmeiji.
o [Poster] “Use of a connectivity solution (GxAlert) in GeneXpert machines improves DR-TB data collection and patient management in Nigeria”. K Jimoh, J Takle, L Ekbladh, JO Obasanya, C Macek, and O Adeleke.
o [Poster] “Demonstrating PPIA (Private Interface Agency) as mandated by India’s national strategic plan for TB control: mid-course results.” O George, R Washington, H Gururaj, R Ganesan, R Swamickan.
§ Click here for the conference program, which includes descriptions of the abstracts.
Save the Date! The 2015 conference will be held in Cape Town, South Africa from December 2-6. The theme will be, “A New Agenda: Lung Health Beyond 2015.” Call for abstract submissions for oral and poster presentations will open on February 10 and close on April 24, 2015. Please visit the website for more information.
· The Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research convened in Cape Town, South Africa from September 29-October 3, 2014. Eridge Simukanzye (ZISSP), along with local collaborators, presented a poster on “Community Leaders as Change Agents for HIV Activities in Kalomo District of Zambia.” Please see the conference program for a description of Eridge’s presentation.
· “The Role of the Private Sector in the HIV Response of Four Countries”, a poster created by Agnes Gatome-Munyua, Sharon Nakhimovsky, and Sean Callahan on behalf of the SHOPS project, was presented at the Amref Health Africa International Conference in November 2014 in Nairobi, Kenya. Click here to download the poster.
Recent Abt Publications, Briefs, and Project News:
· “Female sexual partners of male people who inject drugs in Vietnam have poor knowledge of their male partners' HIV status”, authored by Theodore Hammett, Son Phan, Phong Nguyen, Binh Kieu, Son Dang, Diu Nguyen, Ryan Kling, Hoang Tran, and Oanh Khuat, was published online in Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) on December 31, 2014. Here is the PubMed link.
· Kate Greene, Lisa Nichols, Stephen Musau, Ted Hammett contributed to the Frontline Health Workers Coalition Policy brief on behalf of Abt titled, “Building a resilient, sustainable health workforce to respond to Ebola and other future threats” Link
· “How is the ACA Affecting HIV and AIDS Care Providers Funded by the Ryan White Program?” Article on Abt’s external website. Link
· Recent HFG Reports:
o “Study Finds Malaria Control Scale-Up Benefits Health Systems”, announcement and report posted on October 3, 2014. Link
o “Vietnam: Transitioning HIV/AIDS Systems from Donors to National Government”, announcement and report posted on November 12, 2014. Link
o “Applying Lessons Learned to PEPFAR Transitions in the Caribbean”, announcement and report posted on January, 20, 2015. Link
· Recent SHOPS Articles/Reports:
o “Increasing Access to HIV Services through Affordable Private Insurance in Kenya”, January 2015. Link
o “Strengthened Partnership to Improve HIV Service Delivery in Kenya”, December 2014. Link
o “Study Finds Commercial Providers in Lagos State Could Provide More HIV Treatment.” Article and report posted in October 2014. Link
o “Private Sector HIV Network Launches in Côte d’Ivoire.” Article posted in October 2014. Link
Relevant External Publications
· Released in December 2014, the PEPFAR 3.0 Report, “Controlling the Epidemic: Delivering on the Promise of an AIDS-free Generation”, documents PEPFAR’s progress and unveils the program’s strategy for working with partners to achieve an AIDS-free generation. The report outlines five “action agendas”—Impact, Efficiency, Sustainability, Partnership, and Human Rights—which support PEPFAR’s core pillars of accountability, transparency, and impact. Click here to access the full report.
Upcoming Events and Conferences
· On Tuesday, February 10, please join USAID’s Jennifer Mason (Senior FP/HIV Integration Advisor in the Office of Population and Reproductive Health) and Nithya Mani (Public Health Advisor in the Office of HIV/AIDS) in a discussion about the current state of FP/HIV integration. They will also discuss the practicalities of FP/HIV integration in field programs. Come with your questions! Call-in instructions will follow.
· Registration is open for the 14th annual Global Health Mini-University, sponsored by USAID and the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. The day-long event will take place on Monday, March 2 at the GWU Cloyd Heck Marvin Center in Washington, DC, and will offer over 60 sessions in one of the eight technical tracks: environmental health; family planning & reproductive health; health systems; HIV and AIDS; infectious disease; maternal, child, neonatal health; non-communicable disease & injury; and nutrition. Please see the website for more information on the venue, agenda, and registration details for this free event.
· The 8th Annual International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from July 19-22, 2015.
o Abstracts for regular submission were due on Tuesday, January 27. Notifications are expected at the end of March. Late breaker abstracts for posters and oral presentations “of data of unquestioned significance that meet a high threshold of scientific merit” will be open from April 29 to May 20, 2015.
o Online registration is open; the deadline for standard fee is February 26th; the deadline for late registration is May 7.
o Please see the conference website for more information.
· Save the Date! The 18th Annual International Conference on AIDS and STI’s in Africa (ICASA) will be held in Tunis, Tunisia November 8-13, 2015. The theme of this year’s conference is, “HIV/AIDS in Post-2015 Era: Linking Leadership, Science & Human Rights”. Early registration and abstract submission is expected to open at the end of January. For the latest information and abstract submission guidelines, please visit the conference website.
If you have any items to be shared in the next ID newsletter, please feel free to forward to Catherine Thompson, Katherine Brouhard or Kelley Ambrose.
Katherine J. Brouhard | Associate - International Health | Abt Associates
O: 301-347-5929| M: 216-502-0903 | www.abtassociates.com
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