Location:
Level 6, Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph, +61 (0)2 9385 0900 or rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Dr Colleen Lau - NHMRC Fellow, Department of Global Health.ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment
"Operational Research and Disease Mapping to Inform Control Strategies for Leptospirosis and Lymphatic Filariasis in the Pacific Islands."
Abstract:
Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease responsible for significant disease burden in the Pacific Islands, and outbreaks often occur after cyclones and flooding. Transmission dynamics are complex, and depend on interactions between humans, animals, and the environment. Lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) is becoming less common in the region as a result of the Pacific Programme to Eliminate Filariasis (PacELF), but there are areas of ongoing transmission, and a potential risk of resurgence if these residual foci are not properly managed. For both diseases, there are many questions regarding the most effective public health strategies for prevention, control, and surveillance. This presentation provides examples of how operational field research and disease mapping in Fiji and American Samoa have helped to inform public health strategies for leptospirosis and lymphatic filariasis.
Bio:
Dr Colleen Lau is an NHMRC Fellow at the Department of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University. She is a clinician and infectious disease epidemiologist with particular interest in the environmental determinants of infectious disease transmission, spatial epidemiology, and clinical travel medicine. Dr Lau is currently involved in field research on leptospirosis and lymphatic filariasis in the Pacific Islands, in collaboration with WHO and Ministries of Health in Fiji and American Samoa.