The SCI team will be attending the 65th American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene (ASTMH) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

The ASTMH meeting is a 5-day scientific conference and will be held between 13-17 November 2016.

It provides a forum for tropical medicine and global health professionals to discuss a range of ongoing issues in the field, including neglected tropical diseases such as schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths. 

During the conference, experts from the SCI will participate in presentations and poster sessions on a range of topics. Featured presentations include:

Monday 14th November
Session 22: Developing Responsible Data Sharing for Tropical Medicine (10:15-12:00) - Marriott, Room A601
'Data Sharing in schistosomiasis - beginning the discussion', Narcis B. Kabatareine

Poster session A (12:00 – 1:45pm) - Hilton, Grand Ballroom and Grand Salon
Poster 499 - ‘Treatment coverage validation survey after a school-based mass drug distribution of Praziquantel and Mebendazole in selected districts of Ethiopia’, Kalkidan M. Begashaw, Gemechu Leta, Addisu Alemayehu, Markos Sleshi, Michael D. French

Poster 508 - ‘The road to elimination of schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths as public health problems: The Malawi story so far’', Jane M. Whitton, Samuel Jemu, Fiona M. Fleming, Michelle N. Clements

Poster 513 - ‘While Yemen is heading towards Schistosomiasis Elimination, was it successful in ensuring equity?’ , Dhekra A. Annuzaili, Abdulhakim Alkohlani, Sami AlHaidari, Alaa Hamed, Nehad Kamel, Ahmed Alsofi, Ryadh Bin Ismail, Albis Gabriele, Michael D. French.

Session 39: Schistosomiasis Epidemiology and Control (1.45 – 3.30pm) - Marriott, Room A703-4
‘Reduced Efficacy of Praziquantel Against Schistosoma Mansoni is Associated with Multiple-Rounds of Mass Drug Administration: Epidemiological and Genomic Data from Uganda’, Thomas Crellen, Martin Walker, Poppy H. Lamberton, Narcis Kabatereine, Edridah Muheki, James A. Cotton, Joanne P. Webster.

Tuesday 15th November
Session 63: Schistosomiasis Control with a View Toward Elimination (8:25 – 8:50am) - Marriot, Room A602
'The performance of point-of-care antigen detection diagnostics for rapid community screening in follow-up of mass treatment campaigns in Burundi', Michelle N. Clements.

Poster session B (12:00-1:45pm) - Hilton, Grand Ballroom and Grand Salon
LB-5253 - ‘The role of community engagement and using school and community based approaches in improving treatment coverage of schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths (STH) in Ethiopia’, Birhan Mengistu, Nebiyu Negusse, Biruck Kebede, Amha Fantaye, Michael D. French.

LB-5254 - ‘Independent process monitoring of mass drug administration for schistosomiasis and STH; outcomes and lessons learned’, Nebiyu Negusse, Berhailu Merdokios, Alemu Tamissio, Zerihun Zerdo, Wanzahun Godana, Kate McCracken, Michael D. French, Biruck Kebede, Birhan Mengistu, Markos Sleshi, Addisu Alemayehu

Session 88 - Integrated Control Measures for Neglected Tropical Diseases (1:45 - 3:30 PM) - Marriott, Atrium A
‘Effect of the National Schistosomiasis Control Program on Taenia solium taeniosis and porcine cysticercosis in rural communities of Tanzania’, Uffe C. Braae, Pascal Magnussen, Wendy E. Harrison, Benedict Ndawi, Faustin Lekule, Maria V. Johansen

‘The Impact of Mass Drug Administration on reduction of NTD prevalence in Rwanda’, Corine K. Karema, Irenee Umulisa, Eugene Ruberanziza, Jamie Tallant, Warren Lancaster, Noella Umulisa, Jean Baptiste Mazarati, Alan Fenwick, Agnes Binagwaho

Session 99 - Schistosomiasis: Immunology, Pathology and Diagnostics (4.00 - 5:45 pm) - Marriott, Room M103-5
‘Mapping Of Schistosomiasis In Rwanda: Use Of POC-CCA Versus Kato-Katz’, Corine K. Karema, Irenee Umulisa, Daniel G. Colley, Eugene Ruberanzinza, Jamie Tallant, Tharcisse Munyaneza, Giussepina Ortu, Jean Baptiste Mazarati, Carl H. Campbell, Agnes Binagwaho, Alan Fenwick

Wednesday 16th November
Symposium 106 - Community Providers for Neglected Tropical Disease Control: The “Building Blocks” for Program Success (8:00 - 9:45 AM) - Marriott,  Imperial A
Symposium Organisers:
Fiona M. Fleming, Imperial College London, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative
Philip W. Downs, RTI International

• 'Health systems strengthening and NTD control programs: Close-to-community providers’ experiences, opportunities and constraints', Theresa Hoke, FHI360
• 'Who are the NTD drug distributors? An analysis of platforms used for mass drug administration across multiple countries', Margaret Baker, RTI International
• 'Community engagement in facilitating the delivery of alternative therapies during MDA in Africa', Edridah M Tukahebwa, Ministry of Health Uganda
• 'Contribution of NTD community volunteers to health systems resiliency', Deborah A. McFarland, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Poster session C (12:00-1:45pm) - Hilton, Grand Ballroom and Grand Salon
Poster 1454 - ‘Evaluation of capacity building for leadership and governance in order to strengthen health systems in developing countries’, Nadia Ben Meriem, Nick Astbury, Covadonga Bascaran, Amy Brockbank, Clare Inkster, Marcia Zondervan

Poster 1780 - ‘The Persistent Parasite: Why Do Schistosoma Mansoni Infection Levels Remain High In The Rural Ugandan Village of Wakawaka Even After Over a Decade of Treatment?’, Elizabeth Hollenberg, Fiona M. Fleming, Edridah Tukahebwa, Jane M. Whitton, Yolisa Nalule, Alan Fenwick, Arminder K. Deol.

Poster 1781 - ‘Community-wide Patterns of Infection After More Than Ten Years of Preventive Chemotherapy for Schistosomiasis and Soil-transmitted Helminth Infection in Uganda: Are We Ready to Move Beyond Morbidity Control?’, Arminder K. Deol, Michael D. French, Martin Walker, Edridah Tukahebwa, Judy Fernandez, Fiona M. Fleming, Yolisa Nalule, Joanne P. Webster, Maria-Gloria Basáñez

Thursday 17th November 
Session 170: Making Money Matter: Cost-Effectiveness and NTD Interventions (11:15-12:00pm) - Marriot, Imperial A
Symposium Organisers:
Wendy E. Harrison, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, Imperial College London
Christopher Fitzpatrick, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland

·  'Expanding the NTD fiscal space to domestic resources', Uzoma Nwankwo, Division for Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria
·  'Evaluating the impact and cost-effectiveness of community-wide treatment for schistosomiasis – no simple answer', James Trustcott, Imperial College London
·  'Cost-effectiveness of an integrated intervention strategy on Taenia solium in Tanzania', Uffe Christian Braae, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
·  'More health for less money: integrated preventive chemotherapy for NTD control', Fiona M Fleming, Schistosomiasis Control Initiative, Imperial College London