The Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA) and the Public Health Laboratory Network (PHLN) will host a 3 day Communicable Diseases Control Conference (CDC 2009) from Monday 4 to Wednesday 6 May 2009 in Canberra at the Hotel Realm.

CDC 2009 aims to promote evidence-based discussion around communicable disease control themes, including:

• communicable diseases considered to be under control;
• communicable diseases that are poorly controlled, re-emerging or newly emerging;
• communicable disease issues of importance to indigenous peoples, and
• the impact of communicable disease locally, regionally and globally.

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Keynote and invited speakers

The following noted experts will draw on their experiences to provide keynote addresses introducing each theme to conference participants, from an international perspective:

• Prof. David Salisbury, Director of Immunisation, Department of Health, London
• Assoc. Prof. Julie Hall, Team Leader Emerging Infectious Disease, WHO Western Pacific Office, Manila; and
• Prof. Rick Speare, Director, Anton Breinl Centre for Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University.
• The inaugural Aileen Plant Oration will be presented by Professor John McKenzie, Australian Biosecurity CRC, Curtin University of Technology.
• Various research leaders will also provide plenary addresses on each day of the conference. These include:
• Dr Graham Tallis, Communicable Diseases Surveillance and Response Team Leader, WHO Indonesia;
• Dr Naomi Pomat, Paediatrician Daru Hospital, Papua New Guinea;
• Prof. Bart Currie, Professor of Medicine, Northern Territory Clinical School, Flinders University;
• Prof. Cindy Shannon, Director of the Centre for Indigenous Health, University of Queensland; and
• Dr Vicki Krause, Program Director, Disease Control Program, Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services.

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Program

• Pre-conference workshops – Sunday 3 May
• Public health nurses and public health officers workshop
• Zoonoses – presented by Prof. Rick Speare
• Threats to our regional area – presented by Assoc. Prof. Julie Hall
• How to sell vaccination programs – presented by Prof. David Salisbury

Plenary sessions

• Regional issues in infectious diseases
• Infectious diseases in Indigenous health
• Old infectious diseases

Concurrent sessions

• International and globally mobile populations
• Lessons from a mass gathering
• Pandemic flu
• Antimicrobial resistance
• Indigenous health
• Vaccines
• Laboratory aspects of public health
• Modelling and seasonal flu
• Zoonoses and arboviruses
• Infections in aged care
• Foodborne diseases
• Surveillance methods
• Bloodborne and sexually transmitted infections
• Respiratory diseases

For more information on the conference including speaker's biographies and a detailed conference program visit www.diseases.consec.com.au