Tropical Disease Researchers to Meet at NIH
According to the World Health Organization, each year at least half a billion people worldwide contract diseases associated with the tropics. Developing countries bear the brunt of these illnesses, but international travel, commerce and immigration have extended their reach to all corners of the globe. Tropical diseases account for a growing portion of the emerging diseases that increasingly threaten the developed world. Research aimed at finding better ways to detect, prevent and treat them improves the health of people the world over.
NIAID-supported scientists and other investigators from around the world will present new findings and discuss ongoing tropical disease studies at the sixth annual meeting of the NIAID International Centers for Tropical Disease Research (ICTDR). The meeting takes place Monday, May 5 to Wednesday, May 7 at Lister Hill Auditorium (Building 38-A) on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, Md.
Scientists will address a broad spectrum of topics, from teasing out the genetic factors that influence susceptibility to infectious diseases, to tracing the molecular epidemiology of a tuberculosis epidemic, to using satellite imagery to predict outbreaks of cholera. The meeting will also feature recent studies of malaria, the mosquito-borne scourge that poses an increasingly urgent problem for Africa and other tropical regions.
To attend the meeting, receive a copy of the abstract book or pursue related stories, please call the NIAID Office of Communications and Public Liaison at (301) 402-1663.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIAID conducts and supports research to prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses such as HIV disease and other sexually transmitted diseases, tuberculosis, asthma and allergies. NIH is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NIAID press releases, fact sheets and other materials are available on the Internet via the NIAID home page at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.
back to top