Immunisation experts gather to discuss vaccine status

Thursday, 20 April 2006

Immunisation experts are gathering at the University of Adelaide tomorrow (Friday, 21 April) to review the status of infectious diseases and future vaccination needs and development.

The Immunisation Symposium is bringing together researchers working on the development of vaccines, public health policy-makers and clinicians and health care workers who are involved in administering vaccines.

Symposium convenor Professor Chris Burrell said: "Symposia like this are not held very often anywhere. The aim is to bring the whole range of people involved in immunisation together - from laboratory bench to bedside - to increase understanding of what everyone else is doing so, for example, those people in hospitals in charge of administering vaccines know what vaccines are being developed, and those developing vaccines know the current status of public health policy and ethical and commercial issues." Chris Burrell is Professor of Virology in the University of Adelaide's School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences and Head of the Infectious Diseases Laboratories at the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science.

Speakers at the symposium include: Dr Rod Givney, Director of the Communicable Diseases Control Branch of the State Department of Health, who will give an overview of South Australia's disease status and future vaccine needs; Dr Rick Stapledon, Senior Medical Officer in the Department of Thoracic Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, who will look at the status and needs of TB vaccination; Dr Michael Gold, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide, on issues in vaccine safety; and Associate Professor Annette Braunack-Mayer, Discipline of Public Health, University of Adelaide, on ethics in immunisation.

Co-Director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance in Sydney, Professor Robert Booy, will lead a discussion on meeting the challenges of infectious disease control through immunisation.

The Immunisation Symposium has been organised by the University of Adelaide's Preventive Healthcare Research Cluster and will be held at 3.00-8.30pm, Friday 21 April, in the Stirling Lecture Theatre, Medical School South, University of Adelaide, Frome Road. For further information see www.adelaide.edu.au/phrc

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