Australian High Commissioner Visit PNGIMR Headquaters | PNGIMR getting ready for 40th Anniversary | PNGIMR recieves K35M for research | Professor Siba meets with IRB of UHC MC in USA | Professor Siba meets visits PNGIMR Madang | First EHP HIV/AIDS Stakeholders meeting | 18 graduate as HIV counselors | Pneumocarr workshop in Finland | This quater in Pictures | Grace attends workshop in Melbourne | Mr Tavul attends workshop in Cambodia | PNGIMR celebrates openday with DWU | PNGIMR joins DWU to celebrate open day in picture |Staff graduate from UPNG |Visitors |Staff going Finish |New Staff |Community Service

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Pneumocarr workshop in Finland
Dr Suparat Phuanukoonnon reports on the Pneumococcal Carriage Group workshop, which Professor Peter Siba and herself attended in Finland.

(left-right) Professor Tom Smith, Professor Michael Alpers, Dr Suparat Phuanookoon, Professor Kim Mulholland, Associate Professor Deborah Lehmann and Professor Peter Siba in finland.

The aim of Pneumocarr is to determine more profound knowledge on acquisition and transmission of nasopharyngeal carriage of pneumococcus and the effect of vaccination on carriage in order to measure vaccine efficacy in preventing colonization instead of using invasive disease as an end point.

Pneumocarr and National Public Health Institute, Finland organized the carriage workshop in Helsinki on 27-29 June 2007.

Two representatives from PNG, Professor Peter Siba and Dr Suparat Phuanukoonnon were invited to attend the workshop.

Many ex-PNGIMR and PNGIMR friends also attend this workshop: Professor Michael Alpers, Associate Professor Deborah Lehmann, the DSMB member of the neonatal PCV study- Professor John Matthew, Dr Amanda Leach from Menses School of Public Health Research in Darwin, Professor Tom Smith from Swiss Tropical Institute, and Professor Kim Mulholland from the University of London.

The pneumococcal carriage work by PNGIMR in late 1980s has been recognized as “a break through.”

Professor Tom Smith presented “how to define an episode of carriage” based on this early study in PNG, which has led to the further carriage studies in particular risk factors for carriage, serotype competition and the vaccine efficacy against colonization.

The workshop seeks the collaboration from prominent institutions carrying pneumococcal studies to join the PneumoCarr Microbiology project.

This would benefit to the current neonatal PCV study in PNG to validate the multiple serotypes, standardize and recognize the results with other trials.

The new method for detection of multiple carriages using a multiplex PCR assay is applicable to PNG setting with PNGIMR existing facilities and skills.

This new method will be able to detect the serotype from the “thawed” samples, which were no longer validated. Despite a very intensive workshop, PNGIMR participants enjoyed the discussions with the experts.

The “Finn” food and hospitality (from the airport to the conference room in the castle hotel) are impressive. PNGIMR will purpose to collaborate with PneumoCarr project with the aim to share the information as well as to keep up with scientific knowledge with the “pneumococcal community”.