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Be forewarned: Infectious diseases coming to a practice near you
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The only place to hear the latest on huge shifts in the world of pediatric medicine and infectious diseases, and to learn first about what to expect in the coming year and years to follow, will be at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium, according to David W. Kimberlin, MD, the event’s course director.
David W. Kimberlin
Scheduled for Nov. 19-20, the 29th annual event is expected to attract 800 pediatric and infectious disease physicians and nurses to the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel. There, attendees will learn from the experience and knowledge of 19 leading specialists, researchers and professors from across the United States.
Attendees can earn up to 15.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ over the weekend, as well as gain expertise and connect with colleagues over what Kimberlin calls “hot areas.”
“I say hot areas because they’ve been literally in the news very recently,” Kimberlin, co-director of the department of pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “[Practitioners] will not only get directly relevant things for tomorrow’s day in the office, but also for what they’re going to be reading about over the upcoming year, and what they’re going to be possibly seeing in the next couple of years in their practices.”
Octavio Ramilo, MD, the Henry G. Cramblett Chair in Infectious Diseases at the Ohio State University College of Medicine, will give what promises to be among the most prominent talks at the symposium, on what could prove to be a “revolutionary moment” with respect to respiratory syncytial virus, according to Kimberlin. Ramilo’s presentation will discuss how researchers are “on the verge of both prevention and treatment” of the disease.
A new RSV vaccine may be administered to the pregnant mother, rather than to the child following birth, noted Kimberlin, adding that the effects of the immunization would spread to the offspring through the placenta and later via breast milk.
“It’s all theoretical right now, but that’s the kind of new information that people attending this meeting will hear,” Kimberlin said.
On prevention, Michael T. Brady, MD, of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Mark H. Sawyer, MD, of Rady Children’s Hospital, will offer a point-counterpoint session regarding what various vaccine recommendations mean for pediatricians in the field and on the front lines of infectious diseases.
According to Kimberlin, topics will include the recently passed California law eliminating nonmedical exemptions for vaccines, as well as the sometimes confusing terminology used in ACIP recommendations and how it affects which vaccines are covered, and the issue of who pays for vaccines.
“There are a lot of real issues that I think, personally, we’re on the cusp of having to deal with, and that’s what Mike and Mark are going to be talking about,” Kimberlin said.
Jeffrey R. Starke
Regarding emerging and re-emerging diseases, Jeffrey R. Starke, MD, infection control officer at Texas Children’s Hospital will tackle the “age-old threat” of tuberculosis, which according to Kimberlin, is relevant to practices on a nearly daily basis.
Kimberlin noted that TB is of particular concern to those in congested cities with large immigrant and tourist populations.
“We get a lot of requests each year for tuberculosis presentations,” Kimberlin said. “That’s something that touches everywhere.”
Other scheduled presentations on emerging and re-emerging diseases include “Zika’s Invasion of the Western Hemisphere,” from Joseph A. Bocchini Jr., MD, FAAP, of Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and “Lyme Disease: Old and New,” to be delivered by Eugene D. Shapiro, MD, of Yale School of Public Health.
Both the Zika virus and Lyme disease are hot topics, with the former dominating headlines earlier this spring and summer, and the latter being the subject of a CDC report in February announcing a new species of bacteria (Borrelia mayonii) that causes the disease in people. Researchers discovered the newly recognized species when six of the approximately 9,000 samples, drawn from residents from Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota with suspected Lyme disease between 2012 and 2014, were revealed to contain bacteria distinct from the tick-borne B. burgdorferi.
The CDC in July released a series of Zika recommendations for athletes and visitors planning to attend the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. WHO officials and others have stressed that the games do not pose a new or unique risk for importation and sustained transmission of the Zika virus for most countries.
The Infectious Diseases in Children and Healio.com/Pediatrics staff will be presenting live coverage from the symposium, including reports on these presentations and others, onsite video interviews and much more.
For more information, visit http://www.healio.com/meeting/idcnewyork/home. – by Jason Laday