Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Kuala Lumpur Congress Comes to a Close

As the Congress begins to end in Kuala Lumpur, there is general agreement that it was a great success. Approximately 3300 delegates from 135 countries attended in this magical city. We met the 70 awardees of the Gates grant and the 7 awardees of the Sanofi grant - all energetic and passionate about their work.

Sunday, June 22, I passed the rein of President to Raul Isturiz, who will be an outstanding leader.

Friday, June 6, 2008

Myanmar and China

On May 2 in Myanmar, also commonly known as Burma, cyclone Nargis hit with a devastating force. Only 10 days later, while Myanmar was still recovering, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck China’s Sichuan province. Today in Myanmar there are more than 130,000 people dead or missing and in China, more than 41,000.


While each government is handling the environmental and social aftermath and clean up of these tragedies, global aid workers and other government aid groups are attempting to help in the relief efforts. The resistance foreign aid workers are still being met with and confusion over how to handle aid and resources also brings to light a few standing issues:

1. International laws and barriers preventing global community response

2. Local and international response including vaccine distribution and physician communication

3. Potential infectious disease outbreaks and G.I. infections from lack of clean water and food

These are serious considerations that are only slowly being addressed.

We’d like to hear from you on this, especially our members near these regions. How do you think the international community should respond? If you are there, we invite you to share your story.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Kuala Lumpur



I'm looking forward to seeing all of our members and to hearing the latest cutting edge research on infectious diseases at the 13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases coming up June 19-22 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

(Clockwise from top right: Masjid Ubudiah royal Mosque, the taxi, Skyline with the Patronas Towers)

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Welcome

Hello Everyone,

I hope that you find this blog helpful and that you can look to it as a source for the latest news about the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID) and world health news and views. In the future, I will also be posting pictures and details about our trips and experiences around the world and use this as a forum to share mine and other ISID members' views on current issues and provide details about upcoming events.

The last two years as President have been very rewarding, and we have met and exceeded our three major goals:

1. Increase the membership of the society. We have increased the membership at a rate of approximately 250 members each year.

2. Increase the visibility of ISID. We have been recognized at least 10 times in major newspapers in the U.S. , including USA Today, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. The links to most are available under the ISID in the News section.

3. Increase the financial security of ISID. Our Congress in Kuala Lumpur is one of the highest supported in the history of the Society. Moreover, we have been awarded a $250,000 grant from the Gates Foundation to invite 70 young women health care providers to attend the Congress from Africa, Asia and India.

Check back for more to come!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

National Patient Safety Awareness Week

March 3-7, 2008 is National Patient Safety Awareness Week. Communication between doctors and patients is very important to safety and effective health care plans and prevention. I have drafted a list of steps patients should take to help them work with their doctors and do their part to stay healthy. This Patient Physician Advisory was created to show patients what they should do to get the best healthcare from their doctor.

It is the responsibility of any infected or at-risk person to:

1. Express any and all concerns clearly to their physician(s)

2. Request information or detailed clarification when they do not fully understand their health status or treatment and the risk they may pose to themselves and others

3. Cooperate fully with agreed-upon treatment plans and appointments

4. Prevent the development of disease by accepting appropriate vaccines and prophylactics – especially in high-risk areas

5. Prevent disease progression and transmission, by limiting the spread of disease to others and staying informed of risks

6. Be timely in reporting any suspected illness

7. Be truthful to their physician, providing them with a complete medical history so they can accurately assess the risk of infection and potential for transmission