ISLAMABAD, Dec 22 (APP): A three-day International Workshop titled “Outbreak Investigation and Control of Infectious Diseases” will be kicked off at COMSTECH Secretariat on December 26 with the presence of national and international speakers.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caught the attention of the global community and rekindled the debate about our ability to prevent and manage outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.
To control infectious diseases, human, animal, and environmental factors need to be considered together, based on the One Health perspective.
Keeping in mind the immense importance of the subject, COMSTECH, in collaboration with Pasteur Institute of Iran is organizing this International workshop with several internationally renowned speakers and conveners.
This workshop will cover several important topics such as Environmental investigation, Laboratory investigation, Data management in outbreaks, Outbreak control measures, Agency roles and responsibilities for outbreak management, case studies etc.
About the workshop outcomes, the official said that the course is expected to provide training on the most important topics including outbreaks and related concepts, the general framework of the outbreak investigation, evaluation and confirmation of the outbreak, outbreak description, types of studies in the outbreaks, use of Microsoft Excel in outbreak investigation, environmental and clinical surveys and measurements, collection, labeling, and transfer of sample and preparing the report for the outbreaks, critical thinking at different stages; before and during sampling, analysis, reporting, writing, and providing feedback.
The topics will also include technical and cultural issues during the outbreak investigations, risk communications and lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic
The onsite speakers of the event would be Professor of Medical Biotechnology at the Department of Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Dr. Kayhan Azadmanesh (Ph.D); Assistant Professor of Medical Biotechnology at the Department of Virology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Dr. Arash Arashkia (Ph.D); Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Dr. Fahimeh Bagheri Amiri (Ph.D) and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Dr. Sana Eybpoosh (Ph.D).
The other speakers included Head of Bacteriology Department of Pasteur Institute of Iran, Dr. Mahdi Rouhani (Ph.D); Professor, National Institute of Virology, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Dr Atia tul Wahab (Ph.D) and Assistant Professor, National Institute of Virology, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of Karachi, Dr. Saba Farooq (Ph.D).
Healthcare professionals engaged in disease surveillance and control at peripheral levels, including general practitioners, as well as individuals holding a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in relevant fields can attend the course.
The course will include both a pre-test and a post-test. Three outstanding participants will be selected based on their active engagement in workshop activities and their performance in the post-test and will be duly recognized with a certificate or letter of appreciation.
The details about the workshop can be accessed through the web link: https://comstech.org/international-workshop-outbreak-investigation-and-control/.
