News and Notes
This department furnishes information concerning institutions, organizations, and individuals engaged in work on leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases, and makes note of scientific meetings and other matters of interest.
Denmark. Thermal Sensibility Tester now available. Although not yet in the UNICEF catalogue, a pocket-size Thermal Sensibility Tester for use in leprosy diagnosis is now available for approximately US$35 and can be ordered from:
UNICEF Shipping Center
UNICEF Plads
Copenhagen Freeport
DK 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel: (+45) 31 26 24 44
Stock No. 06-950-00
For background information on this new testing device, see the article by Srinivasan and Stumpe entitled "Value of thermal sensibility testing in leprosy diagnosis in the field-field trial of a pocket devise," Lepr. Rev. 60(1989)317-326.
India. Annual General Meeting of the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh. The annual meeting of the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh (HKNS) was held on 19 December 1989 at Rashtrapati Bahavan, New Delhi, at 11:30 a.m. The meeting was presided over by the President of India, Shri R. Venkataraman, who is also the President of the HKNS. Nearly 120 members representing a cross section of leprosy workers from various parts of the country attended the meeting. The following office bearers and members were nominated by the President. Office-bearers: Hon. Shri Nilamani Routray, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chairman; Miss K.Sujatha Rao, Director (Media), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Hon. Treasurer; Dr. S. B. Roy Chaudhury, Hon. Secretary. Members: Union Health Secretary, Ex-officio; Executive Secretary, Voluntary Health Association; Dr. S. D. Gokhale, Editor, Kesari, Pune; Dr. C. S. Walter, Director, The Leprosy Mission; Prof. T. N. Jagadisan, Hon. Secretary, Kasturba Kusht Nivaran Nilayam, Malavanthangal.
The President also invited Baba Amte to be the Hon. Vice-President of the Sangh.
The following five members were elected (1) Maj. Gen. S. S. Maitra, AMC (R); (2) Shri G. C. Baveja; (3) Shri J. R. Jindal; (4) Smt. Gayatri Modi; and (5) Shri Bhagwan Singh; the names of branch representatives, representatives of leprosy workers and IAL were announced and the Governing Body reconstituted.
While addressing the delegates the President observed that multidrug treatment (MDT) which brings rapid cure to leprosy patients has been introduced by the government in 112 out of 196 leprosy-endemic districts covering 2.4 million of the total 4 million estimated cases. However, for the complete success of MDT, health education of patients, their families and community is essential since stigma against leprosy still continues to be prevalent in society. He further observed that:
a) The most important role of the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh is health education.
b) He was happy to note that the Sangh has plans to undertake a community awareness program setting up of shoe manufacturing units, community-based rehabilitation and the like, aimed at bringing relief to leprosy patients.
c) The Sangh, which is a premier voluntary organization having branches in almost all of the states, could function as nodal agency for co-ordinating the activities of all the voluntary organizations with the government program and vice versa as envisaged in the Swaminathan committee's report on the eradication of leprosy.
d) Another important role that he visualized for the Sangh is "Care of the Cured."
e) He was sure that the Sangh and its branches will help in realizing the National Leprosy Eradication Programme within the targeted period of the year 2000 A.D.
The President sent his best wishes to all those leprosy workers who are silently working in the remote coiners of the country in the service of the suffering humanity, and wished the participants Godspeed in their work.-Kusht Vinashak 12(1990)6-8.
IAL elects new officers. The new office bearers elected at the Biennial Conference of the Indian Association of Leprologists (IAL) held at Trichur in November 1989 are: Dr. H. Srinivasan, President; Dr. R. P. Mahadevan and Dr. Yellapurkar, Vice-Presidents; Dr. V. M. Katoch, Hon. Secretary; Dr. K. Venkatesan, Hon. Treasurer. A new set of Central Council Members were also elected. - Indian J. Lepr. 62(1990)155.
1989 All-India Workshop held at Hyderabad. The Center for Social Science Research on Leprosy, Gandhi Memorial Leprosy Foundation, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology, Hyderabad University, organized a three-day All-India Workshop on Social Research Methods for the Study of Tropical Diseases (Leprosy) at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad, 12-14 October 1989. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Dharni P. Sinha, Principal, ASCI, and the inaugural session was presided over by Prof. Bh. Krishnamoorthy, Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad. Nine working sessions were held besides the inaugural and valedictory sessions. -Indian J. Lepr. 62(1990)154.
1989 Asian Seminar-cum-Workshop. The International Leprosy Union (ILU) in collaboration with Rehabilitation International, International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a four-day Asian Seminar-cum-Workshop on "Rehabilitation in Leprosy" at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, September 22-25, 1989. The Malaysian Leprosy Relief Association (MALRA) were the local organizers. Delegates from 13 countries as well as from WHO and ILO participated in this Seminar-cum-Workshop. The objectives of the workshop were: a) to analyze the disability situation in leprosy-endemic Asian countries and evaluate their current rehabilitation programs for leprosy patients; b) to identify priorities and develop strategies for physical and social rehabilitation and their integration within the overall programs for leprosy control, community-based rehabilitation, and primary health care; and c) to develop coordination and follow-up mechanisms to promote physical and social rehabilitation of the leprosy-disabled in particular and the disabled in general. Dr. S. K. Noordeen (WHO) and Dr. S. D. Gokhale (ILU) were the chairpersons for the plenary sessions and Dr. H. Srinivasan (India) was the rapporteur for the meeting. - Indian J. Lepr. 62(1990)140-149.
1989 Indo-U.K. Workshop on Leprosy Research. A three-day Workshop on Leprosy Research sponsored by the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Overseas Development Agency, U.K., was conducted at Central JALMA Institute for Leprosy, Agra, 15-17 February 1989. About 50 scientists including some from the U.K. participated in the proceedings. The workshop was inaugurated by Prof. T. Ramakrishnan, Emeritus Professor, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The objectives of the workshop were: a) to bring together scientists from U.K. and India interested in leprosy research and related areas and b) to identify topics of mutual interest for possible collaborative research projects under the extended Indo-U.K. collaboration program.-Indian J. Lepr. 62 (1990) 150-153.
Norway. European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. The 5th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases will be held 9-11 September 1991 in Oslo, Norway. For details: Congress-Conference, P.O. Box 7669, Skillebekk, N-0205 Oslo 2, Norway.
Switzerland. WHO forms new Division of Tropical Disease Control (CTD). CTD was created effective 8 January 1990 to strengthen tropical disease control activities and to improve coordination in the field. With Dr. Jose Najera as Director, the new Division was formed by a merger of Vector Biology and Control, the Malaria Action Programme, and the Parasitic Diseases Programme so that their areas of responsibility could be reprioritized and reapportioned.
CTD consists of 7 units-;5 for disease control (malaria, trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, leprosy, filariasis), 1 for training, and 1 for operational research-;and will collaborate closely with the WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). TDR and CTD are interactive programs to build bridges between new knowledge and practical applications. -;TDR news 31(1990)1.
U.S.A. AFIP Course on Infectious and Parasitic Diseases in the Tropics and the U.S. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's 3rd Annual Course on Infectious and Parasitic Diseases in the Tropics and the U.S.A. will be held 18-22 February 1991 in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.A. For details: Dr. B. O. L. Duke, American Registry of Pathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington, D.C. 20306-6000, U.S.A. (tel. 202-576-2980; federal and military, tel: 202-576-2939).
Directory of International Grants and Fellowships. The Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health has compiled a 74-page directory of sources of grants and fellowships in the health sciences. Its purpose is to help biomedical and behavioral scientists identify fellowships for training outside their home countries and locate grants for research projects in their home countries. Published in April 1989, it contains information as of August 1988 on eligibility requirements, financial provisions, and application deadlines set by over 180 organizations and agencies worldwide. The directory is available free of charge. To order, send a self-addressed label to: Public Affairs Office, Fogarty International Center, Building 16, Room 306, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, U.S.A.
Heiser Program for Research in Leprosy 1991. Dr. Victor George Heiser, a physician who devoted his life to the study and treatment of tropical diseases, provided in his will a multimillion dollar bequest for basic biomedical research on leprosy. The following awards were established and are available.
1) Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. To support young biomedical scientists in beginning postdoctoral training for leprosy research. Applicants should have M.D., Ph.D., or equivalent. While there is no age limit, candidates should be at an early stage of postdoctoral research training. There are no citizenship requirements. Generally, postdoctoral training should be planned in an institution other than that in which the applicant obtained the doctorate. Candidates should be interested in obtaining research training directly related to leprosy study. Initial awards are for 1 year, renewable for a second year, at stipend levels between $20,000 and $25,000 per annum.
2) Research Grants. To provide limited support to laboratories involved in leprosy research training. Applicants should be senior investigators who are experienced in leprosy research and associated with a laboratory providing training opportunities in this field. Grants may be sought for proposals which are both of high scientific caliber and clearly related to leprosy. Start-up funds may be requested for new projects or facilities which show promise of receiving support from other sources within 1 year and of contributing to leprosy research. Grants will not exceed $20,000 and are limited in duration to 1 year. These grants will not be awarded for clinical trials and they may not be used for salaries.
3) Visiting Research Awards. To promote collaborative research in studies of leprosy and to encourage clinical experience with leprosy by facilitating access to centers in which clinical manifestations of the disease are being correlated with laboratory findings. Because of the high cost of travel, awards in this category will be made only under special circumstances. Candidates should be established investigators in leprosy who wish to carry out specific research objectives in a distant or foreign institution. There are no citizenship requirements. Up to 6 consecutive months of support for travel and subsistence costs will be awarded to successful candidates.
All applications must be in English (one original and four copies). The deadline for submission is 1 February 1991. There are no application forms, but for information required for each grant write: Mrs. Barbara M. Hugonnet, Director, Heiser Program for Research in Leprosy, 450 East 63rd Street, New York, New York 10021, U.S.A.(Adapted from Heiser Program brochure)