Stay up to date

The 13th African Rotavirus Symposium (ARS), organised under the auspices of the African Rotavirus Network (AfrRN), will be a virtual event. The symposium is hosted by the University of Nairobi in partnership with WHO African Regional Office (WHO AFRO), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC).
The 13th ARS will be held on the 3rd and 4th November 2021 and the format will be one 3-hour session on each day.

The theme of the symposium is “Maintaining momentum for rotavirus immunization during the COVID-19 era”

The session topics are:
Update on Rotavirus Vaccines and Immunization in the context of COVID-19 pandemic
New Research Updates

• Host interactions with rotavirus (immune/microbiome/etc.)
• Rapid fire updates from the field

For more information visit http://afr-rn.samrc.ac.za/ars2021/abstracts.html

The 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health is pleased to announce that submissions for Late-Breaker Sessions are open from 15 July-12 August 2021. Submit now!
In keeping with the spirit of a late-breaker session, we ask that only new, innovative and significant findings of broad interest that have occurred after 12 May, or for which information has just become available, be submitted for the late-breaker sessions. 

The following three late-breaker sessions are slated for the Conference that will take place from 19-22 October 2021:
THE UNION LATE-BREAKER SESSION ON COVID-19 
All aspects of SARS-CoV-2 and Covid-19-related lung health are welcomed for presentation during the late-breaker session, from basic science in immunology and vaccines, clinical trials for vaccines or therapeutics, to operational research in adults and children.  
This session will consist of up to seven pre-recorded oral presentations of 8 minutes each, followed by live Q&A with the online audience.  
THE UNION/CDC LATE-BREAKER SESSION ON TB 
The 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are pleased to announce a late-breaker session related to tuberculosis (TB). 
This late-breaker session includes all aspects of TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment research (including basic and clinical science, epidemiology, social, behavioural, and health care delivery). Given the global COVID-19 pandemic, we will also consider select presentations that explore the intersection of COVID-19 and TB prevention and programmatic implementation. It will consist of 7 pre-recorded oral presentations of 8 minutes each and live Q&A at the end of the session. The session is scheduled on 22 October 2021.  
THE UNION STUDENT LATE-BREAKER SESSION ON LUNG HEALTH 
The 52nd Union World Conference on Lung Health is pleased to announce the Union student late-breaker session focusing on lung health and sponsored by the Research Institute of Tuberculosis of the Japan Anti-Tuberculosis Association (RIT/JATA). 
All aspects of lung health are welcomed for presentation during the late-breaker session, from basic science in immunology and vaccines, to operational research in tuberculosis (TB), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), pneumonia, and other lung health issues in adults and children. This session will consist of up to seven pre-recorded oral presentations of 8 minutes each, followed by live Q&A with online audience.  
Individuals submitting an abstract must be currently enrolled as a student in a university programme at undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral level either full- or part-time. 

DETAILS
All abstracts must follow the abstract submission guidelines 
For more information and details on sponsorship for late-breaker sessions: https://theunion.org/late-breaker-sessions
For any further queries, email scientific@theunion.org

This project was coordinated by the ICGEB and implemented in partnership with reference testing laboratories in Africa. ICGEB Member States, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, have taken part in a pilot study to assess the efficacy of a novel diagnostic tool in diverse settings. Dr Joseph Fokam (TMA2015CDF1027) was the local PI in Cameroon.

This pilot study, performed during the period September 2020-May 2021, contributed to the accuracy in detecting SARS-CoV-2 in resource-limited settings. It evaluated the diagnostic performance of RT-LAMP in terms of intrinsic (sensitivity, specificity) and extrinsic (positive and negative predictive values) characteristics according to SARS-CoV-2 viral load estimates provided by the conventional RT-qPCR in four LMICs of Sub-Saharan Africa. Results from the study show that RT-LAMP represents a formidable alternative to RT-qPCR.  New England BioLabs freely contributed its LAMP technology to the study, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation funded the project (INV – 022816).

To learn more about this exciting project visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-xSlulkN-4

THEME FOR ICASA 2021 - "Africa’s AIDS response: The race to 2030 – Evidence. Scale Up. Accelerate"

OBJECTIVES FOR ICASA 2021 -

• To strengthen health systems to integrate high impact interventions on comorbidities, emerging infections and NCDs.
• To build, strengthen and invest in Africa’s scientific capacity and manufacturing of vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
• To Identify in Africa, resource tailored interventions for populations most affected including women, children, adolescents, men and Key Populations.
• To evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the HIV/AIDS response and share lessons learned in overcoming barriers in maintaining continuity of care for people living with and at risk for HIV infection.
• To amplify national, regional, continental and global integration to reach epidemic control in Africa: Contributions from Africans in the Diaspora.

Regular Registration for ICASA2021, Durban-South Africa is still open.
Register from today till 31st August 2021 and save 100USD.

For more information visit http://icasa2021.saafrica.org/