January 2012

President's Message

It's hard to believe that we have just celebrated the start of 2012. In Scotland we mark the arrival of a New Year with particular passion in a holiday we call “Hogmanay” that draws on our history of Viking invasions, superstition, and ancient pagan rituals! Some of Scotland's more interesting Hogmanay traditions include "first footing" - which dictates that the first person to cross a home's threshold after midnight on New Year's Eve will determine the homeowner's luck for the rest of the year. The ideal visitor bears gifts-preferably whiskey and coal for the fire -and should be a man with a dark complexion. Why? The answer goes back to the 8th century, when the presumably fair-haired Vikings invaded Scotland - a blond visitor was not a good omen! As midnight strikes, it is customary to link arms and sing Auld Lang Syne, the traditional song famously transcribed by Scottish poet Robert Burns.

Reflecting on 2011, it was a very busy year for the ISTM, with the CISTM in Boston, celebration of our 20th anniversary, introduction of the new online learning resources, and many other activities you will read more about in this issue of NewsShare. The membership of ISTM has continued to grow, and I wish a warm welcome to each of the 561 new members who joined in 2011 and the more than 150 who have already joined for the first time in 2012. I hope you find your membership in the ISTM rewarding and worthwhile - and I fully expect you to meet new colleagues and make good friends in the society. I also want to recognize the growing number of travel medicine professionals who contribute so much to the foundation and programmes of our Society. Your contributions are invaluable to the organization; many thanks for your continued support.

2011 was also the year Peter Leggat began in his role as NewsShare Editor. Under Peter's guidance and creative hand, we have enjoyed a wonderful variety of articles, both informative and fun. We look forward to each issue, knowing that the content will continue to be of the highest caliber and quality and are never disappointed. I've recently learned that Peter received several professional honours this year. He received his Fellowship Through Distinction from Professor Lindsey Davies, CBE, the President of the joint Faculty of Public Health of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (see photo), and he was also conferred with the title of Honorary Fellow of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine (ACTM). Congratulations Peter!

As we look forward to 2012, the ISTM is focused on stimulating the practice and professional advancement of travel medicine around the world. For example, the new ISTM Task Force on International Outreach has been surveying various travel medicine societies and organizations around the world, to identify opportunities for mutual collaboration on programmes and projects. The Task Force report should provide a focus for us to move forward with new initiatives to support the ISTM progress towards meeting our vision:

The ISTM is a vibrant and inclusive international society committed to ongoing and sustained contributions to the advancement of the practice and science of travel medicine globally.

So, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all ISTM members, wherever in the world you might be, a peaceful, healthy, happy and rewarding 2012 - and I hope that your trials and tribulations will be little ones.

Cheers,
Fiona

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From the Editor

Peter Leggat

It is fantastic to see the ISTM moving from strength to strength following the celebration of its first 20 years. This is evidenced by the record number of new members in 2011 taking total membership past 2700 and pharmacists are helping to lead the charge. In addition there are well over 2000 travel clinics now listed in the ISTM Clinic Directory. It is also great to see members of our ISTM Executive Board (EB) being recognised and I would like to congratulate Fiona Genasi, our ISTM President, on her award of Fellowship of the British Travel Health Association (see Picture right), which is a great honour in travel medicine. Those wanting to get some more insight into some of the achievements of our EB members will also be interested to read the guest editorial by Karl Neumann profiling one of our newest EB members, Karin Leder from Australia. Great work once again Karl!

Reading through this NewsShare, members will see that there are many and varied opportunities to become involved in your society. It may be enrolling in the ISTM List Serve, planning to attend an upcoming ISTM conference, supporting the Journal of Travel Medicine, enrolling in a professional or interest group, or indeed considering an application for the position of ISTM Secretary Treasurer, advertised in this issue, should you meet the high standards set for this important position. Do you have editorial skills? Perhaps you would like to contribute to ISTM NewsShare? I urge you to keep in touch with the developments from the ISTM Task Force on International Outreach, which Fiona has so nicely articulated in her President's Report, particularly in terms of what our vision of the ISTM should be.

Fiona with Julie Gallagher (BTHA Chair)
and Iain MacIntosh (BTHA President).
I was being made a Fellow of the
British Travel Health Association
at their annual conference in October.

I hope to see many of you at the upcoming Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference 2012 being held in Singapore from 2-5 May 2012, which is endorsed as the 5th Regional Conference of the ISTM (RCISTM5). It is wonderful to see that "Controversies in Travel Health, Infectious Diseases and Vaccines" will be addressed by the some of the leading travel health professionals from around the World. Of course proposals are already being called for CISTM13 in Maastricht, The Netherlands, from 19-23 May 2013, but at present our sights are firmly set on Singapore and RCISTM5, which is just a few months away.

In the meantime, if you need a challenge, try the ISTM Crossword. Thanks again to Diane Nickolson and the team at the Secretariat for keeping the machinery of the society turning, including helping to realize this edition of ISTM NewsShare. Enjoy reading this issue!

Peter Leggat
Editor, ISTM NewsShare

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Secretary-Treasurer's Report

David Freedman

I'm delighted to report a steady and consistent growth in ISTM membership. As of 31 December 2011, the ISTM can boast 2,724 members from 82 countries. Each year the ISTM has a very healthy number of new members join, with a new record number of new members in 2011 at 561. This past year for the first time we have had members join from the following countries and territories:

• Angola
• Burkino Faso
• Bermuda
• Cambodia
• Guam
• Latvia
• Pakistan

Physicians are still the largest discipline, with a 62% share of the membership and 73% of the membership dues revenues. Nurses are the second largest, with 701 nurse/nurse practitioner members for close to 26% of the membership body. Our fastest growing discipline is pharmacy, now at 156 members - an increase of more than 80% during 2011. The remaining 150 or 5.5% of the membership are mostly non-physician doctoral level individuals (PhDs or DrPH) and physician assistants.

Regionally, North America still captures the highest percentage (65%) of our membership, with Europe the second largest at 16.5%, followed by Oceania (8%) and Asia (6%). The following countries have the largest number of members (as indicated), representing 86.5% of the total ISTM membership.

I'm also pleased to report that we have more than 2,075 travel medicine clinics in over 80 countries currently listed in our Clinic Directory. Members are allowed one clinic listing, and can purchase additional clinics to list if they wish.

I am looking forward to continued growth of both membership and benefits provided to the ISTM global community in 2012. It continues to be a privilege to serve as your Secretary-Treasurer and don't hesitate to contact me at any time.

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News from the Secretariat

Diane Nickolson

It has been a busy time at the Secretariat, with the processing of membership renewals, as well as keeping other programs and activities moving forward. I'm pleased to report that more than three quarters of you have already renewed your membership for 2012, and hope we can have everyone renewed prior to the March cut-off. As you renew your membership, please be sure to consider joining one or more of our interest and professional groups. There is no additional fee to join, and the groups are becoming very active in the society representing their respective interests. You can find information on the activities of each group on their website pages, linked below:

• Destination Communities Support Interest Group
• Migrant and Refugee Health Interest Group
• Nurses Professional Group
• Pediatric Interest Group
• Pharmacist Professional Group
• Psychological Health of Travellers Interest Group

I'm delighted to also report that we have had a good number of new members already join for 2012 - more than 100 travel medicine professionals are first-time members so far in 2012. We look forward to serving all of you for years to come.

Daveen and Kathy with Dr. Alec Stereff
of Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Last month we (the Secretariat) were delighted to have an unexpected guest stop by the office. Dr. Alec Stereff from Townsville, Queensland, Australia was in town and popped in for a quick visit. What a pleasure it was for us to be able to meet and learn more about him. I had to capture the moment, and took this photo of him with Kathy and Daveen. (I'm not visible, but behind the camera!). We hope more members will take the opportunity to stop by whenever in the Atlanta, USA area.

As we move into the new year, I wish all of you a 2012 surrounded by your loved ones, with good health and lots of laughter. Thank you for all that you do for the ISTM and the travel medicine community.

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Call for ISTM Secretary-Treasurer Candidates!

Alan Magill,
Search Committee Chair

The ISTM Executive Board is soliciting interest in the position of Secretary-Treasurer as the current Secretary-Treasurer will complete his term in May of 2013. Candidates who are under consideration for the position by the Executive Board will be expected to disclose fully any potential conflicts of interest that might impact their impartiality.

Suggested Qualifications:

• Membership in ISTM.
• Experience within and knowledge of ISTM such as at the Executive Board or Committee level and/or Certificate of Travel Health or comparable experience in other similar organizations is desirable.
• Previous positions or appointments with direct operational and financial oversight for organizations, departments, projects, or grants with annual budgets in excess of $500K per annum.
• Experience with the operation and organization of major meetings and courses.
• Leadership experience within substantial national, international, or non-governmental organizations.
• High professional stature within the field of travel medicine.
• Stature and ability to represent ISTM professionally and confidently to industry partners.
• Demonstrated reputation for the highest personal ethical standards.
• Ability and willingness to be detail oriented as necessary for business critical endeavors of the ISTM.
• Technical knowledge to oversee the Executive Director in maintenance and updating of a SQL-server data-base driven membership administrative system.

Minimum Expected Work Product:

• Oversight of the Executive Director in maintenance of day-to-day operations.
• Integrity of adherence to all ISTM operations, Board, and Officer decisions, ISTM By-Laws and applicable laws.
• Oversight of operations and programs in a manner that would not jeopardize ISTM's 501c6 non-profit, tax-exempt status.
• Oversight of the organization and conduct of ISTM Executive Board and Membership meetings within applicable governing regulations and laws.
• Integrity of financial records and financial systems.
• Integrity of the annual budgeting process.
• Regular monitoring of ISTM budget and all financial accounts with appropriate intervention for each discrepancy or variance. The S/T will have access to review online at any time all internal bookkeeping systems, as well as all bank and financial institution accounts including all investment accounts. These should be reviewed regularly.
• Monitoring budgets of all ISTM sponsored conferences and courses with appropriate intervention for each discrepancy or variance.
• Active role on Conference Oversight Committees including site selection for ISTM conferences and courses and providing a lead role in advising the EB on the viability of proposed business plans.
• Integrity of investments.
• Negotiation/implementation/monitoring of contracts:
  • For meetings, courses, sponsorships, publishers, and administrative support vendors
• Resolution of difficult ongoing administrative issues in a timely manner.
• Best-efforts protection of EB members and officers from financial liability for decisions taken.

Minimum Time Expenditure:

• 8 hours per week.
• 2-3 site visits for 2-3 days to ISTM headquarters in Atlanta GA.
• Attend the following meetings:
  • One CISTM Scientific Program Committee Meeting each year (2-3 days)
  • Site visits to identify venues for CISTMs and RCISTMs (up to 7-10 days)
  • Usually expected to attend CISTM and RCISTM
  • Executive Board Meeting each year in conjunction with CISTM or RCISTM for 3 additional days to follow the CISTM or RCISTM
  • There may be other travel needed for various reasons

Preliminary enquiries to the Chair of the ISTM Secretary-Treasurer Search Committee, Alan Magill. Applicants must complete and submit the Secretary-Treasurer Candidate Form with a recent Curriculum Vitae to the ISTM Executive Director, Diane Nickolson. Applications close 15 March 2012. The successful candidate will be expected to begin transition duties in late 2012 and to assume the post in May of 2013.

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CISTM13 Proposals Due Soon!

Mary E. Wilson

The deadline for proposals for the 13th Conference of the ISTM is fast approaching. The Scientific Program Committee encourages all members of the ISTM to submit their ideas and recommendations for Symposia, Plenaries or Workshops by 15 February 2012 through the ISTM website. The CISTM13 will be held 19-23 May 2013 in beautiful Maastricht, The Netherlands. With almost 3000 members in over 82 countries, ISTM is the largest organization of professionals dedicated to the advancement of the field of travel medicine. The CISTM13 is an outstanding opportunity for travel medicine practitioners from around the globe to come together to share updates on the latest science and evidence, enjoy a collegial environment and do a bit of travelling themselves.

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Asia Pacific Travel Medicine Conference, in Conjunction with the RCISTM, to Address Controversies in Travel Health, Infectious Diseases and Vaccines

Asia Pacific Travel Medicine Conference to Address Controversies in Travel Health, Infectious Diseases and Vaccines

Singapore, 15 January 2012 - World-renowned travel medicine experts from Asia Pacific, Europe and the US are confirmed to speak the 9th Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference (APTHC 2012) and 5th Regional Meeting of the International Society of Travel Medicine (RISTM5) to be held on May 2-5, 2012 in Singapore.

Themed “Travel Health and Vaccines: the Asia Pacific Perspective”, the conference will feature an impressive list of speakers including Prof. Nicholas White (Thailand), Prof. Paul Tambyah (Singapore), Prof. Jeremy Farrar (Vietnam), Prof. Robert Steffen (Switzerland), Prof. Balbir Singh (Malaysia), Prof. Alan McGill (USA), and Dr. Mary Wilson (USA), among others.

The conference will cover important and timely subject matters such as management, diagnosis and controversies in travel health, infectious diseases, vaccines and related fields. Topics also include the latest developments in prevention of malaria, vaccines for low incidence-high impact diseases, important infections in Asia Pacific, differential diagnosis in returning travelers, special needs, extreme and adventure travelers, sex tourism, medical tourism and eco tourism, travel clinic management, etc. Over 200 abstracts have been received for free communications and poster sessions. Industry-sponsored symposia including that of GSK, Novartis, and Lufthansa are also featured.

The conference is organized by the Asia Pacific Travel Health Society and the International Society of Travel Medicine in collaboration with the Singapore Infectious Disease Society, Australasian College of Travel Medicine, Japanese Society of Travel Medicine, Japanese Society of Travel and Health, Thai Travel Medicine Society and the Maritime Health Association.

Travel medicine practitioners in Asia Pacific will also have the opportunity to take the Certificate in Travel Health^TM examination which is one of the most recognized professional certifications in the field. As part of the ISTM's Travel Medicine Continuous Professional Development Program, this examination was developed in recognition of the critical need for travel medicine practitioners to maintain and increase their skills and knowledge. The Certificate in Travel^TM Medicine examination will take place on May 2nd from 12:00-17:15 hrs. at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel in Singapore. For more details on how to register, please visit www.istm.org.

For more information about APTHC 2012 in conjunction with RISTM5, visit www.apthc2012.org or call +65 62924710.

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2012 ISTM Travel Medicine Review and Update Course

With a backdrop of the beautiful city of San Francisco, California, USA, this year's Travel Medicine Review and Update Course will continue to provide the most current and relevant information needed by physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who provide medical care and advice to travelers, expatriates, and migrants. The course is also designed to review the Body of Knowledge for the Practice of Travel Medicine and features two Mock Tests to help candidates prepare for the CTH^® Examination. The 2012 Course will take place on Saturday and Sunday, 25-26 February 2012, at the Marriott Union Square Hotel. For further details, please check out the Course site here.

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Singapore to Host the 2012 Certificate in Travel Health^TM Examination

Kenneth Dardick

Immediately preceding the opening ceremonies of the RCISTM5 in Singapore, the CTH^® Exam will be offered on Wednesday, 2 May 2012. Registration for the 2012 Exam is available through 1 April 2012. No registrations can be accepted after that date. The ISTM welcomes applications from all qualified professionals who provide travel medicine-related services on a full- or part-time basis. The exam is open to all licensed travel medicine professionals, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists and others. Both ISTM members and non-members are eligible to participate.

The ISTM Certificate in Travel Health^TM, developed by an international panel of travel medicine experts representing a variety of professional disciplines, is granted to candidates who pass the examination and recognizes their individual excellence in knowledge in the field of travel medicine associated with pre-travel care and consultation. The Certificate is the first step in the ISTM Travel Medicine Continuous Professional Development Program. The exam focuses specifically on the level of knowledge that is necessary to practice travel medicine. Understanding of specific tropical diseases and treatments will be limited to that which should be known to advise travelers (for example, in the diagnosis and treatment of traveler's diarrhea or rabies immunoprophylaxis), including post-travel triage of travelers and post-travel screening. Knowledge of tropical medicine is not required.

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Record Number of Research Award Proposals!

David Hamer

There were 25 research proposals submitted in early December in response to the call for research proposals this fall. This represents a record number of research proposal submissions. The Research and Awards Committee is initiating the process of review of these proposals, which will be completed by early February. There appear to have been many excellent and interesting proposals submitted that we hope will eventually generate excellent new evidence to improve the practice of travel medicine. The awards will be given in May of 2012.

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Nurses Professional Group

Gail Rosselot

As 2012 begins we want to provide this update on NPG activities:

CE Initiative and Task Force

On December 17, 2011 the CE survey on Nursing CE for ISTM educational programs was completed. Approximately 50% of the NPG membership responded. Respondents support a policy for ISTM to offer nursing CE credits for educational programs. An Executive Summary of the results is currently under development and will be available on the NPG webpage later in January.

Next Steps: With the survey completed, the CE Task Force is now gathering recommendations for how ISTM might implement a policy that ensures nursing CE credits for the future. A formal proposal to support a nursing CE accreditation policy is under development. It will go to the NPG Council for final review before submission to the Executive Board in February.

A number of ISTM nurses have been working to help the NPG Council in this effort. We want to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of these CE Task Force volunteers:

Patricia Donahue
Barbara Grogg
Barbara Guenst
Laurie Hartjes
Lynne Harper
Isobel Mac Pherson
Jacqueline Meier
Nicola Meredith
Lauralee Middleton
Kerry Palakanis
Doreen Perez
Patricia Smith
Nicola Meredith

NPG: Looking Back, Looking Ahead

The Year Gone By: 2011

Since the new NPG Council took office in May, we have focused on the number one priority item raised at the Boston Assembly- nursing CE credits for all major ISTM educational programs. As 2011 comes to a close, we are almost ready to submit a proposal to the ISTM Executive Board for them to consider how this can be achieved.

A second action item was to increase transparency of NPG activities. The minutes of our bimonthly meetings are now posted on the NPG webpage and our emails now go out to all ISTM nurses, not just NPG members.

Our third action item was to increase nurse participation on ISTM committees. We now have nurses as members on these committees:

Publications-Sandra Grieves
Continuing Professional Development - Gail Rosselot and Hilary Simons
CTH^® Examination - Claire Wong and Marc Robin
Research and Awards - Adrienne Wilcox
Professional Education and Training - Gail Rosselot and Nancy Jenks
Scientific Committee for Maastricht - John Bosch, Nahoko Sato, Susan Koeman, Carolyn Driver
Organizing Committee for Maastricht - John Bosch
Liaison to Pharmacy Professional Group - Lani Ramsey

If you have any questions about the activities of any of these ISTM committees or would like to suggest items for their consideration, you are encouraged to contact the nurses on these committees or the committee chairs.

The Year Ahead: Plans for 2012

As you can read in the minutes of our December Council meeting, the NPG Council is looking ahead to new efforts on behalf of ISTM nurses. We welcome the suggestions of any ISTM nurse for 2012 action items. Please tell us how we can help you as a member of ISTM or as a travel health nurse. Send your thoughts and ideas to Gail Rosselot, NPG Chair @ garosselot@aol.com.

Review and Possible Revision of NPG Council Structure and Election Cycle

Changes to Council Structure: Starting this month we will review the structure and election cycle of our own council. NPG was the first professional group. Since its formation, ISTM has established one other professional group (PPG) and four interest groups. No two groups are structured exactly alike. For example, some have 5 members, others 7, others 9. Some have a chair and vice chair, others have a chair and chair elect. During the next few months, we plan to review our structure and may propose changes based upon that review.

Changes to the Election Cycle: The current Council was voted in just days before the Boston CISTM13 in May 2011. The timing of nominations, the election, and the transition of new members came at a very hectic time for everyone. Our goal is to recommend an election cycle that will avoid conflict with the biennial meeting. Some suggestions already posed: election during the "off- year" of the CISTM, election 6 months prior to the CISTM, and election 3 months after the CISTM. If you have a suggestion for an improved election cycle for NPG Council, please let us know. You can send your ideas to istm@istm.org.

Meetings in Singapore and Dublin

Nurses are active in planning presentations at two important international meetings next spring. Lani Ramsey, Briar Campbell and Gail Rosselot will be presenting a nursing session at the RCISTM5 meeting in May in Singapore

Claire Wong

Claire Wong, NPG Council member, is a Specialist Travel Health Nurse at the National Travel Health Network and Centre, UK, and a member of the Scientific Committee for NECTM4. She shares this information about plans for the June NECTM meeting in June:

Welcome to Dublin and the 4th Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine!

If you've never attended an international travel health conference before, the Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine (NECTM) is a great place to start, and the Dublin meeting is no exception. Preparations for NECTM4, to be held in June 2012, are well underway and the programme is looking really exciting with something for everyone.

NECTM is held every two years and is organised by several European travel medicine organisations and supported by ISTM. On 6 June 2012, NECTM comes to Ireland's beautiful and friendly capital city, Dublin and the programme contains plenty of interest to nurses at every level of experience.The programme for NECTM4 will include OSKEs - Objective Structured Knowledge Exchange sessions, lasting just 15 minutes and providing the opportunity to interact with the presenter in an informal small group setting - a first for NECTM!

Also scheduled are plenty of plenary and symposium sessions covering a wide range of travel medicine topics and catering for every level from beginner to expert.

A welcome meeting for nurses will be held before the opening ceremony which is a chance to meet other nurses before the start of the conference and receive useful tips if this is your first conference.

And if that wasn't enough to tempt you, there is of opportunities to socialise with a welcome get together and reception to be hosted by Ireland's Minister of Health at Dublin Castle.

Finally you can be assured of a "céad míle fáilte" (a hundred thousand welcomes) when you come to Ireland. The conference venue, Burlington Hotel Conference Centre, is just a short walk from the city centre. Registration for NECTM is now open and the deadline for abstract submission is 29 January 2012. Further information is available on the NECTM website at www.nectm.com.

Hope to see you there!

Important reminder to all ISTM nurses: Please send in your abstracts for CISTM13.

On behalf of the NPG Council,
we wish you all peace, health and a rewarding year professionally!

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ISTM Pharmacy Professional Group session at FIP Hyderabad India

Jeff Goad

Since the inception of the ISTM Pharmacy Professional group (PPG) there has been a programme of collaboration with the International Pharmacy Federation (FIP) community Pharmacists Section. This culminated in September 2011 when the group was invited to give a joint session at the FIP annual conference, covering a range of topics related to Pharmacy Practice and Travel Medicine. The session was co-chaired by Prof Larry Goodyer (immediate past chair of the PPG) and other speakers included Dr Jeff Goad (Chair of the PPG) and Claudine Leuthold ( Chair elect PPG).

Prof. Goodyer opened the session by giving an overview of the involvement of pharmacists in delivering travel medicine services both in the UK and US. In both of these countries systems of pre-travel clinics operated in pharmacies and delivered by pharmacists are becoming well established. Offering immunisation services is a growing pharmacist activity and both countries have systems whereby the public can access vaccination services from the pharmacy. This contrasted quite differently to the position on continental Europe as outlined by Claudine Leuthold (Switzerland) and Johannes Jaenicke (Germany).

Mr Jaenicke described a very popular service from his rural pharmacy in Germany offering the appropriate advice and supplying a range of travel health related products. He also works together with local physicians in identifying the indicated malaria chemoprophylaxis and vaccination schedules for each traveller. Legislation does not currently allow any form of vaccination by pharmacists in Germany. This is also the case in Switzerland where Mrs Leuthold described a software programme called Viavac that allows community pharmacists to participate in the recommendation, scheduling and recording of all childhood and other vaccines as well as the online electronic vaccination record, www.myvaccines.ch, linked with Viavac to exchange vaccination records between health professionals and public. It is now being proposed that Swiss Pharmacists be granted the legal right to immunise following the appropriate course of training and certification.

Also included in all of the presentations was a consideration of the same two case studies that examined the pretravel preparation involved that would be of relevance to the pharmacist. Therefore Mr Jaenicke discussed the various travel health supplies that would be considered and Mrs Leuthold described the vaccination schedules. Dr Goad outlined in general terms the recommendation that pharmacists should be making regarding malaria prevention and then related these specifically to the two example cases.

Following discussion during the session it appeared that pharmacist led travel medicine services were most developed in those countries where they were legislated to deliver immunisation services. The Pharmacist Professional Group wishes to advance the practice of pharmacists working in the field of travel medicine and this does include the legislative right to provide an immunisation service.

The meeting concluded with a desire to maintain the collaborative links with the FIP, perhaps with a joint session at the next ISTM annual conference in Maastricht 2013.

The Three Chairs (from left) - Larry, Claudine and Jeff

Jeff and Claudine with Karin Graff
(FIP Community Pharmacy)
and Johannes Jaenicke

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Pediatric Interest Group

Philip Fischer

Have you been looking for a recent reference on antimalarial prophylaxis for a child traveling to Nigeria? Are you getting prepared to participate in a medical mission trip and you would like to know more about global child health? If so, maybe the Pediatric Interest Group bibliography may have the article or reference you are working for. A list of key references related to pediatric travelers can be found. Topics include insect bite prevention, prevention of malaria, diarrheal disease, and global child health. Also you will find a list of comprehensive reviews covering pre-travel counseling and medical problems of the child traveler and many other topics. Practitioners caring for the pediatric traveler will find this site very useful. Please check it out.

This bibliography is updated every month or more often if needed. New references are always welcomed. We are certain that many of you have some favorite articles that could be added to the bibliography. Please feel free to send these to John Christenson at jcchrist@iupui.edu.

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Psychological Health of Travellers Interest Group Elects First Leadership Council

This past fall, the Psychological Health of Travelers Interest Group elected their first Steering Council. The Council just met and elected its new officers. The new Council Members are:

• Dr. Thomas Valk, United States, Chair
• Dr. Jesse Alves, Brazil, Chair-Elect
• Dr. Ted Lankester, United Kingdom, Immediate Past Chair
• Dr. Antonio Roberto Abaya, Philippines
• Dr. Patricia d'Ardenne, United Kingdom
• Dr. Michael E. Jones, United Kingdom
• Dr. Ted Lankester, United Kingdom

The Charter of the Psychological Health of Travellers Interest Group is to:

• Raise awareness among those who care for travelers of the psychological issues connected with travel and the importance of considering psychological health at all stages in the patient journey.
• Mainstream this key aspect of health into standard travel medicine practice.
• Develop evidence based good practice in the psychological health care of travelers, before, during, and after travel and help develop tools for identifying those most at risk.

Congratulations to the new council members and officers!

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Member Profile: Karin S. Leder

Karin Leder

One of the main reasons that the ISTM continues to be a vibrant and growing Society (more than 2700 members from 80 countries, with the number ticking upwards almost daily) is the Society's ability to attract a phenomenal group of able, forward looking and dedicated members from all parts of the world and with varying healthcare backgrounds - a group that provides a strong and deep pool of people with leadership talent.

One of the most recent members elected to a leadership position, the Executive Board (EB), is Karin S. Leder, who is already well known by many members. For those who do not know her yet, Karin hails from Australia and, like most of her predecessors on the EB, comes accompanied by a mass of impressive credentials. If, indeed, she literally travelled with all her professional baggage - articles, chapters and books that she has written or been associated with - she would have to pay a hefty sum in excess charges, especially since she is travelling from Australia, not exactly around the corner from the rest of the world. Fortunately, we have computers that provide handy printouts of her CV and professional writings.
Says Karin, “I was born in Melbourne and have lived there all my life apart from 1998-2001 when I moved to Boston to do my ID Fellowship. I come from a very close family, which has been enlarged and enriched since I married my husband Torsten in 1998, and then had 3 gorgeous sons, Zac (now aged 9), Mitch (now aged 7) and Jesse (now aged 5). My boys are my main focus and interest now - they are absolutely adorable! Life is a juggle between the kids, my clinical work, my academic position, and my husband's work, and I am so lucky to have the help of family and friends to help hold things together. We love to travel, both in Australia and overseas, but Melbourne will always be home.”

Karin received her medical training at the Monash University - in Melbourne, of course - where she trained in internal medicine, and became a member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians specializing in Infectious Diseases, and earned her PhD. And she is still at Monash University. Presently she is an Associate Professor, head of the Infectious Disease Unit in the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, and also is Director of Travel Medicine and Immigrant Health Services at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In the time spent in Boston, she completed a Fellowship in infectious diseases at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center earned a Masters of Public Health from Harvard University, and completed the Gorgas Course in clinical tropical medicine in Peru, not a small accomplishment in three years. She is a member of numerous infectious disease and travel/tropical medical societies in both Australia and America.

Karin referred to “juggling” the competing demands of family and work responsibilities. She apparently excels at this “sport.” Her work includes innumerable professional interests, the main two being: infections in travellers and immigrants, especially imported infections; and health and water, particularly the burden of waterborne disease and health issues related to alternative water sources -rainwater, recycled water and grey water. (For those of us who will admit that they do not know what grey water is, Wikipedia tells us it is wastewater generated from domestic activities such as laundry, dishwashing, and bathing, which can be recycled on site for uses such as landscape irrigation and constructed wetlands. Grey water differs from water from toilets, which is designated sewage or blackwater to indicate it contains human waste.)
Karin further proves herself a master juggler with the generous amounts of time that she devotes to the ISTM, with numerous ideas and projects flying around in the air at any one time but always masterfully controlled and managed with a firm grip. She has been the GeoSentinel® Site Director for Melbourne; Chair of the GeoSentinel® Publication Committee; co-author of more than eight GeoSentinel® network wide analyses; a regular contributor to and referee for the Journal of Travel Medicine; a member of the ISTM Research Awards Committee and of the ISTM Migrant and Refugee Health Committee; a Member of the Scientific Program Committee for several conferences (CISTM11 in Budapest, CISTM12 in Boston; Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference in Melbourne, 2008); and Co-chair for the Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference to be held in Singapore in May, 2012. She has also been a member of the Scientific Committees and an invited speaker at all international ISTM conferences held since 2008. In her “spare” time, and reflecting her international status in travel medicine /imported infections, she is the Editor for the Travel Medicine section of UpToDate, a widely used US-based online clinician's tool.

Karin's vision for the ISTM: “to help create a basis for improved clinical management of travellers by encouraging and assisting high-quality research outputs. While I originate from Australia, I am also aware of travel medicine issues in Europe, North America, and elsewhere so I can well represent the global constituency of ISTM.

Karl Neumann

I hope to be a strong voice for ISTM in its goal of asserting the discipline of travel medicine as an evidence-based and authoritative field. I will continue to combine my clinical experience in travel medicine with my work in epidemiology and research methodology. This will facilitate identification of clinical knowledge gaps, translation of these gaps into feasible research questions, performance of well-designed studies, and publication of results at conferences and in relevant journals.”

As far as the ISTM is concerned, let's hope that Karin continues her juggling acts.

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