Write up about the Conference
The 6th ASEAN Congress for Tropical Medicine and Parasitology was held at the Intercontinental Hotel in KL, Malaysia on March 5-7, 2014. The Congress was organized in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of the Malaysian Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM). The theme of the congress was: GLOBAL CHALLENGES IN TROPICAL DISEASES: Bridging Gaps and Building Partnerships. The conference was attended by about 400 delegates, the biggest so far in the history of ACTMP, mostly coming from ASEAN countries. My five (5) MS graduate students from UPLB who also work on parasites presented their works as oral presentations in the conference. There were seven (7) oral papers from the Philippines; of these 6 were from UPLB and one from UP Manila. According to the conference organizer, this was the first time that many Filipinos, particularly graduate students, participated and presented in ACTMP. Colleagues from other regions who are working on Tropical Diseases and Parasitology also joined the conference namely Japan, China, Taiwan, US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and Netherlands.
In addition, the conference theme for this year was very relevant: GLOBAL CHALLENGES IN TROPICAL DISEASES: Bridging Gaps and Building Partnerships. Major research developments have taken place in Tropical Medicine and Parasitology in the past fifty years and the congress provided an opportunity for the exchange of scientific ideas and provided a forum to discuss important advances in these fields. With the advent of new and emerging diseases in ASEAN countries, this congress provided a platform for dissemination of current research information on the topics on zoonoses, food-borne diseases, vector-borne diseases, and veterinary and public health.
The Congress provided a wonderful meeting point for researchers from academia, industry and clinics both from industrialized and developing countries and hence strengthen existing collaborations and forge new ones. Overall, it provided a good venue for scientific research discussions and collaboration.
Feedback on paper presented
The paper entitled “Mite Fauna and Mite Antigen Detection in House Dust from Residential Areas in Los Baños, Laguna” was placed under the Sesion of Vector-Borne Parasites and Allergies.
The paper was the only one on mites and allergies. Most of the papers under this session were on mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue, malaria,filariasis, etc. There were no major comments except that the Chairman of the session appreciated the work as there are few researchers who work on dust mite allergies. One comment from the audience was to extend the study to other areas of the country as it was only focused locally.
Future directions of research presented
The study may be extended to other areas/regions of the country as suggested in the conference. Also, it is interesting to do more research that will involve the production of a diagnostic kit, particularly for Blomia tropicalis, which was found in this study to be the most dominant house dust mite species in Los Banos. The antigen test used in this study was specific only for Dermatophagoides sp.
Potential foreign collaborators
Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian
Department of Parasitology
Faculty of Medicine
University of Malaya 50603 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Praphathip Eamsombhana
Department of Parasitology
Faculty of Medicine
Mahidol University
Bangkok, Thailand
Email: [email protected]
Other important contacts and insights
The 6th ACTMP also provided a venue not only for foreign collaborations but also brought together Filipino local researchers, academicians, and program managers to synergize the current researches in the country and to address gaps. This provided a wonderful site for the Filipino researchers to forge friendships and collaborations. Other groups from the Phils were from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), UP Manila, Mindanao State University and De La Salle University.
Short write-up of one’s participation (to be used to feature/publicize the grantee’s participation in the conference)
The UP Research Dissemination Grant completed their evaluation for the first quarter of 2014. One of the recipients of this year’s award is Dr. Vachel Gay V. Paller from the Animal Biology Division of the Institute of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Banos. Dr. Paller requested funds to attend the 6th ASEAN Congress for Tropical Medicine and Parasitology held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 5-7, 2014. She presented an oral paper entitled “Mite Fauna and Mite Antigen Detection in House Dust from Residential Areas in Los Baños, Laguna”
The Congress was organized in conjunction with the Golden Jubilee of the Malaysian Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (MSPTM). The theme of the congress was: GLOBAL CHALLENGES IN TROPICAL DISEASES: Bridging Gaps and Building Partnerships. The theme was very relevant as it provided a window towards ASEAN integration by 2015. Major research developments have taken place in Tropical Medicine and Parasitology in the past fifty years and the congress provided an opportunity for the exchange of scientific ideas and provided a forum to discuss important advances in these fields. With the advent of new and emerging diseases in ASEAN countries, the congress provided a platform for dissemination of current research information on the topics in zoonoses, food-borne diseases, vector-borne diseases, and veterinary and public health. The conference provided a good venue for scientific discussions and build connections with the international scientific community.
The conference was attended by about 400 delegates, the biggest so far in the history of ACTMP, mostly coming from ASEAN countries. Also, five (5) MS graduate students from UPLB, under the supervision of Dr. Paller, also presented their works in the conference as oral presentations. This was a good opportunity for students to be exposed to international conferences and showcase UP as a member of the ASEAN science community. There were seven (7) oral papers from the Philippines; of these 6 were from UPLB and one from UP Manila. Also, two (2) posters were presented by the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM). This was, indeed, a good showcase of Philippine research activities to invite international collaborations. The participation of the graduate students from UPLB was well appreciated by the conference organizer as this was the first time that many Filipinos, particularly graduate students, participated and presented in ACTMP. Colleagues from other regions who are also working on Tropical Diseases and Parasitology also joined the conference namely Japan, China, Taiwan, US, UK, France, Germany, Canada and Netherlands.
