Last August 15-17, 2017, the Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in coordination with Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam organized the 3rd International Conference on Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease at Premiera Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The theme of the conference was "Global Challenges in Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Disease". It focused on three major issues in public health namely: Vaccination, Antimicrobial Drug Resistance and Zoonoses. The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Cheong Chee Kheong of Ministry of Health, Malaysia. He emphasized the importance of series of discussions among scientists, academicians and technologists on various aspects of combating new threats in emerging and reemerging diseases. More than 200 scientists from 15 countries participated in the event. Of which more than 40 researchers presented their papers. Undersecretary of Department of Health Dr. Gerardo V. Bayugo presented the Philippines' Experience on Zika virus while Dr. Norbel A. Tabo of De La Salle University-Dasmarinas presented his PCHRD-funded research titled "Prevalence of Leptospira in abbatoir workers, slaughtered animals and abbatoir environment in Cavite, Philippines". Dr. Tabo focused his discussion on the continual source of leptospires and the presence of common serovars in abbatoir worker-slaughtered animal-abbatoir environment interface could pose problems on human health. The serovars identified could be potential candidates for the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests. The conference provided an avenue for researchers to search for solutions to problems not only on drug discoveries but also on strategies combatting new biological threats.
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HRDCR IV-A at the 11th PNHRS Week Celebration
Members of the Health Research and Development Consortium Region IV-A once again attended and participated in this year’s Philippine National Health Research System Week (PNHRS) Week with the theme “Research and Innovations in Health: Empowering and Transforming Communities”. PNHRS Week is celebrated every second week of August by virtue of Proclamation No. 1309. Pre-conferences were held on 22-23 August 2017 among which are the following: SHARE: Rallying Communicators for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health attended by the team of Prof. Susan Sta. Ana, Chair of HRDCR IV-A Committee on Research Utilization. SHARE stands for Society of Health Research Communicators; it is a community of communicators who share health research stories, advocacies and local and national initiatives; Emerging Issues in Research Ethics attended by the members of the Ethics Committee members; A national consultation on the development of technical review board manual for Regional Health Research and Development Consortia (RHRDC) – the development of the said manual aims to simplify the processes and documentation of the RHRDC-Research Management Committees operations while maintaining high standards, transparency and accountability.
Also included in the week’s celebration were the Inter-regional Oral Paper Presentation and Poster Exhibit Contest of completed research papers (Professional and Student Category). Dr. Norbel Tabo of De La Salle University-Dasmarinas (DLSU-D) won the 1st prize in the oral research presentation for his study entitled “Prevalence of Leptospira in Abattoir Workers, Slaughtered Animals and Abattoir Environment in Cavite, Philippines”. For the student oral research presentation, the study entitled “Hypoglycemic Potential of Coffea canephora Pierre ex A. Froehner (ROBUSTA) Fruit Pulp Extract in Alloxan-induced Diabetic Rats” won the 3rd prize. The study was presented by Ms. Frances Diane P. Gelle of DLSU-D. On the other hand, a research from De La Salle Health Sciences Institute entitled “Antiangiogenic Properties of Ethanolic Extract of Ipomoea batatas (Sweet Potatoes) Peeling” by Ms. Joane D. Bañez and Jannah Meara J. Baybay was chosen as finalist in the student poster category.
The event also highlighted the Consortia Exhibit that featured the RHRDC’s activities and the fellowship night which showcased the country’s rich cultural diversity depicted through dance numbers made by the members and staff of RHRDCs.
