Travel Medicine around the World

The new Faculty is having its first open symposium, Travel Medicine _ A Voyage of Discovery, on Tuesday, 9 October 2007 at the College. All interested are cordially invited. Subjects to be discussed include malaria, rabies, visiting friends and relatives (VFRs) abroad, climate change and its effect on vector- borne diseases, and the deaths of tourists abroad. For more information, please check the College's web site for the program: http:/ /www.rspsg.ac.uk. Applications for attending the symposium are at http://www.rcpsg.ac.uk/ Education/Events/Medical/

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Credit the International Society of Travel Medicine with yet another outstandingly successful Conference. CISTM10, which took place here in May, was apparently "the best yet." According to numerous attendees who have attended the preceding nine CISTMs _ many of them finicky Conference goers _ every Conference has outshone the ones that preceded it, a monumental feat.

If you have read all this before, you are entirely correct. Yes, Vancouver was a total success educationally, socially, and culturally. There were about 2,000 attendees from 56 countries, from Angola to Zimbabwe. Our Society, in its short 20-year history, has developed _ to the envy of most other societies _ the ability to orchestrate memorable conferences by blending exotic locations with travel medicine significance, state-of-the-art-conference facilities, able speakers, a large audience, and unforgettable social events.

The Convention Center is situated right on the beautiful Vancouver waterfront, over the water, actually, with snow-capped mountains easily visible in the distance on the other side of the harbor. And the Convention Center sits atop the pier used by a constant stream of large cruise ships that sail to Alaska and other ports. Furthermore, the large hotel that housed most of the delegates is located over the convention center, enabling attendees to look right down on the cruise ships or stroll on the promenades aside the ships. Yes, the Convention Center, the pier, and the hotel are literally atop of each other. And virtually all Conferencerelated activities took place within the complex, allowing attendees never to set foot on the streets, including, if they so wished, going on a cruise, a not unreasonable activity for health care professionals, considering all the health-related issues found on cruise ships today. Of course anyone who did not explore the city missed out on one of the more sophisticated, fast growing, modern metropolises found anywhere.

Reflecting the varied history of Vancouver, the opening ceremony included not one but two major shows, a Scottish bagpipe band (one of the finest in the world), and a troop of very talented Chinese dragon dancers, so scary and jumping about that many accompanying children held tightly to their parents' hands.

But true to ISTM conference tradition, and a credit to the diligence and character of our members, neither good weather, nor cruise ships, nor world famous Stanley Park, nor the sights in the Old Town, nor the museums and the art galleries were able to entice our attendees to stray from the sessions. They came to Vancouver to learn travel medicine, and so they did. Many a member stayed a few extra days to "do" the City, or go to nearby Victoria or Whistler, the latter the site of the upcoming winter Olympics. Many made plans to return to see the sights that they had to pass up.

At the conference, attendees selected from the usual smorgasbord of plenary sessions, symposia, free communications, poster viewings, debates, local history lectures, electronic interactive workshops, "Meet the Professor" gatherings, satellite sessions, industry exhibits, and all the other accouterments that are now standard fare at successful assemblages.

Congratulations for a job well done go to Chair Kevin C. Kain and Co-Chair Herwig Kollaritch and the other members of the scientific committee, and to Chair Suni Boraston and the members of her local organizing committee. Said Suni, when asked for her comments on the many months of diligent work she put into the preparing for the meeting, "I am so happy it is over."

If historical precedence and tradition continue, and all indications are that they will, upcoming meetings in Melbourne, Helsinki, and Budapest will only further raise the bar of ISTM meeting excellence for the "best ever", "never-to-be-forgotten", "never to-be surpassed" meeting. Read below about the 2008 meetings:

Asia-Pacific International Conference on Travel Medicine, Melbourne, February 24- 27, 2008. The countdown has begun to Melbourne! February is summer in Melbourne, with warm weather and prolonged daylight _ ideal for a gathering of travel medicine experts. The Conference site is the beautiful Crown Conference Centre, at the Crown Promenade Hotel, part of the famous Crown Casino Complex on Melbourne's Yarra River, right in the city. Surrounded by restaurants, cafes, shops and nightlife, the location is perfectly suited to our needs, and delegates will find a busy program and beyond.

Our website www.apictm.com now contains the update academic program, abstract submission process, and accommodation and registration procedures.

The conference presents an exciting program aimed at practitioners at various levels and has a range of local and regional experts as speakers.

For the novice to travel medicine there is the "Travel Medicine Foundations" series. These presentations are given by a panel of international experts and lead the practitioner through the field of travel medicine in an introductory way. This program has been acknowledged by the ISTM as an appropriate training module for the Certificate of Travel Health, and is ideal for general practitioners and others who wish to know more about travel medicine in general.

The ISTM is currently making arrangements for the CTH to be available on Sunday 24th February, before the opening evening, so those in the region can sit for the examination. Please look at the ISTM website for further details.

For practitioners already working in travel medicine, the selection of mainstream symposia is targeting specific topics of relevance, with detailed presentations from experts selected for their knowledge and communication skills, and should provide a perfect opportunity for a deepening knowledge of current practice.

In keeping with the conference's overall theme, "Our Region in Focus", a third stream of "Country in Focus" workshops provide a detailed look at destinations across the region. This will provide a great opportunity for practitioners to get to know these destinations more intimately.

Overall, the program will blend opportunities for travel medicine to be looked at with a broad view across the issues, as well as a deeper look at specific contemporary topics.

Application for Royal Australian College of General Practitioners points has been made and currently 30 Category 2 points is anticipated; there are on-going discussions of awarding Category 1 points.

Come to Melbourne to learn, to share and to be a part of the regional travel medicine network.

See you in Melbourne in February!

Representing: The 3rd Regional Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine

The 7th Asia Pacific Travel Health Conference

The 17th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine

Dr Tony Gherardin, National Medical Adviser, Travel Doctor-TMVC Group, Phone: 03 9224 8352; Fax: 03 9224 8330; Mob: 0421 097 806 tony.gherardin@traveldoctor.com.au

Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine

Helsinki, Finland, 21-24 May, 2008

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

The Organizing Committee of the Northern European Conference on Travel Medicine (NECTM) takes great pleasure in welcoming you to the 2nd NECTM, to be held in the Marina Congress Centre in Helsinki on 21-24 May 2008. The Conference is organised by a coalition of European travel medicine societies and international health organizations. The conference is a continuation of the very successful first NECTM held in Edinburgh in 2006. NECTM also follows the long tradition of the Scandinavian Forum for Travel Medicine.

NECTM is intended for all who are interested in the field of travel and migration medicine. The target audience includes physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied professionals, as well as the travel media and industry.

Our scientific programme will cover the current "hot" topics in travel health as well as the "all time favourites." Special themes will include arctic medicine and traveller’s health issues in the Baltic countries and in Russia. In addition to joint plenary sessions the programme will emphasise interactive learning and practical pre- and post-travel health issues.

The social programme of the conference will combine Finnish tradition in architecture, music and dance with the unique national obsession for sauna. (In fact, a sauna evening is scheduled as part of the program, likely a first at an international travel medicine meeting.)

The very long daylight hours in May will ensure that visitors will have ample opportunity to explore the attractions of Helsinki, the white maritime capital of Finland.

Finland is a member of the European Union and one of the Nordic countries. Helsinki is often called the "Daughter of the Baltic." It has frequent direct flight connections from most European capitals and is easily accessible from the rest of the world. Helsinki/ Vantaa Airport is 20 kilometers from the city center. Those willing to extend their stay can also explore such cities as Tallinn, Estonia, Saint Petersburg and Stockholm, all within an easy distance from Helsinki.

Helsinki is a pleasant city for visitors. It offers all necessary services for travellers within a compact area. All the hotels to be used for conference-related activities are within walking distance or a short tram ride from the Conference venue. The weather in May is pleasantly warm as summer time is approaching. The average daytime temperature is usually 15-20 degrees C. Rain showers may occur. The modern and well-equipped Marina Congress Center is located in the harbour of Helsinki, close to the Market Square, and within short walking distance from the heart of the city. The main hotel, Scandic Grand Marina Hotel is immediately next to the Congress Center.

Important dates for NECTM 2008:

Final Announcement and Call for Abstracts, October 2007
Abstract submission deadline, 15 January 2008
Early registration deadline, 15 January 2008

For further information:

CONGREX / Blue & White Conferences Oy. .O.Box 81, FI-00371 Helsinki, Finland. Tel: +358-9- 5607500, Fax: +358-9-56075020, E-mail: nectm2008@congrex.fi Conference secretariat www.nectm.com

Maija Rummukainen, Chair, Organising Committee
Heli Siikamäki, Chair, Scientific Programme Committee
Taneli Puumalainen, Chair, Local Organising Committee; Also:
Organising committee: Eric Walker, British Travel Health Association, UK; Mads Buhl, Danish Society of Travel Medicine; Maija Rummukainen, Finnish Society for International Health; Frank von Sonnenburg, German Society for Travel Medicine and International Health; Fiona Genasi, Health Protection Scotland, UK; Dom Colbert, Irish Society of Travel Medicine; David Hill, National Travel Health Network & Centre, UK; Pål Voltersvik, Norwegian Forum for Travel Medicine; Sandra Grieve, RCN Travel Health Forum, UK; Lars Rombo, Swedish Society of Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine & International Health.