Announcement of the course
A global pandemic of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease, started during World War II, intensifying during the 70’s. Since then, the prevalence of dengue fever as well as the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) has increased exponentially, with approximately 2.5 billion people at risk, about 50 million cases and 250-500 000 severe cases occur annually. At present, dengue is reported in Southeast Asia, the Western Pacific, and in the American and the Mediterranean regions. In the last years, an increased number of epidemics are being reported in Africa.
In this context, the PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector of the ‘Pedro Kourí’’ Tropical Medicine Institute (IPK), Havana, Cuba, together with the Cuban Ministry of Public Health, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WHO Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) organize, since 1987, their biannual International Dengue Course.
This 12th edition of the Course, covering 24 years (1987-2011) of work, will allow to strengthening capacities in dengue control and prevention, taking into account the most current and advanced knowledge and experiences.
OBJECTIVE OF THE COURSE
The Course’s objective is that participants -physicians, virologists, immunologists, sociologists, epidemiologists, entomologists, and health managers, among others interested in this field, along with many professors from several prestigious national and international institutions, may have the opportunity to debate on the most relevant and updated aspects of this disease and its control.
TOPICS OF THE COURSE
Through theoretical and practical sessions, the main aspects related to dengue will be covered: dengue epidemiology, clinical management, diagnosis, virology and immunology, vector control, environmental risk factors and community participation. Important aspects to be discussed are trends of dengue at global level, impact of climate change, new dengue clinical classification, opportunities for diagnosis, impact of virus diversity, immunogenetics, complexity of dengue immunity and pathogenesis, dengue vaccines, new highlights and challenges, integrated surveillance and control, difficulties, options, challenges, economic burden, new options for control, insecticide resistance, the environment, health systems and dengue, among others. Within the framework of the course, the new global initiatives for dengue and the experiences of several countries and geographical regions will be showed.
In the first week, general lectures as well as round tables and symposia on the topics of clinic, emergency response, diagnostic, pathogenesis, vaccines, antiviral drugs, integrated control and chikungunya and other emergent arboviruses are also scheduled. In addition several expert meetings will be organized.
ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE
The Course is structured in two sections: theoretical and practical. The theoretical section will be conducted during the first week and the practical section during the second week.
In the theoretical section, general lectures, round tables and symposia have been scheduled. In the practical section, participants will gather in several groups, according to their interests: clinical care, entomology, community participation, virology and epidemiology.
Participants will have opportunity to present their results in a poster session scheduled in the first week. Poster characteristics: 94cm wide X 140cm high (vertical position).