Tropical diseases aren't just tropical anymore. Because of increasing international travel, immigration, and reliance on imported foodstuffs, diseases no longer respect boundaries. And, U.S. citizens can be at risk for some tropical diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever, without ever leaving home.
To find out more about the status of tropical diseases in the world today, media representatives are invited to attend the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, October 29th-November 2, 2000 at the Western Galleria and Oaks Hotel, Houston, Texas.
The ASTMH meeting will focus on topics such as emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, including up-to-date information on West Nile virus and other infections that are beginning to travel to developed countries. Presenters will discuss preventive and control measures, including the latest progress in developing vaccines for these diseases.
Participants will also present practical information for travelers on topics such as precautions for travel by pregnant or immunosuppressed individuals, tips for traveling with children, and the newest developments in preventing and treating an old scourge, traveler's diarrhea.
Meeting sessions will also feature presentations on new methods for diagnosis, epidemiologic investigations, public health interventions, economic analysis of tropical disease impact, vaccine and drug design and evaluation, arthropod biology and control, and basic research on disease agents and mechanisms of pathogenesis. Other highlights include sessions on DNA vaccines, molecular parasitology, pathogeneis of malaria, cytokines/parasite antigens, epidemiology of tropical diseases, and mucosal immunity.
Comprehensive media facilities will be available in the onsite Press Room and press conferences will be held throughout the meeting. Media representatives are also invited to attend a pre-meeting course, "Updates in Athropod-Borne Human Diseases in the New World," October 28-29. Topics will include malaria, yellow fever, dengue, arboviral encephalitides, filariasis, Chagas' disease, leishmaniasis, bartonellosis, Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, spotted fevers, and others. Speakers are internationally recognized authorities on arthropod-borne diseases.
For additional information about the meeting program and ASTMH, visit the web site at www.astmh.org. The site includes a searchable meeting program book, background material on tropical diseases and their impact, plus an international directory of travel clinics.
Media representatives are requested to register in advance by contacting Barbara Hyde, bhyde@asmusa.org, 202-942-9206.
Travel arrangements: For reservations at the Westin Galleria Hotel, 5060 West Alabama, Houston, TX 77056, call the hotel at 713-960-8100 or fax to 713-960-6551. Note that you are attending the ASTMH meeting to qualify for a special rate, available until Sept. 29.
An airfare discount is available to ASTMH attendees on American Airlines if tickets are purchased through Bannockburn Travel, 800-227-1908 (international callers dial 847-948-9111).
Founded in 1951, the ASTMH has over 3,000 members from more than 70 countries. The Society provides a forum for scientists and other healthcare professionals to exchange information and ideas on tropical diseases and international health.