APCRICON 2016

  • Community News

9 Sep 2016

APCRICON 2016, the 18th Annual National Conference of Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India was held on 9th & 10th July, 2016 in Bangalore, with the theme of "One health approach for prevention & control of Rabies: Opportunities & Challenges."

Bangalore is a city which has the unique distinction of nurturing 3 pioneering Institutions, renowned for their work in the field of prevention & control of rabies in India: the Department of Community Medicine, Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), the Department of Neurovirology, National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences (NIMHANS) & the Departments of Microbiology & Pathology, Karnataka Veterinary College (KVAFSU).

About 600 delegates comprising of medical doctors, veterinarians, scientists & researchers from all over India & from 7 other Countries participated in the conference and exchanged their views & discussed about the newer developments in the field of rabies. Combined with the conference, a press meet was held at the Press Club, Bangalore on 8th July 2016 and a Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme on ‘Laboratory Diagnosis of Rabies’ was held on 8th July 2016 at Department of Neurovirology, NIMHANS, Bangalore with 26 participants from both Medical and Veterinary fields.

APCRICON 2016 was inaugurated on 9th July, 2016 at 9.00 AM by Dr. Bernadette Abela-Ridder, Team leader, Neglected Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, WHO, Geneva.  During the inaugural function, the APCRI Journal and APCRICON 2016 Abstract book/Souvenir were released and the APCRI Life time achievement award was given to Founder Secretary General of APCRI, Dr. Tapan Kumar Ghosh (Posthumously) and the Young Scientist award was conferred to Dr. Rachana A.R..

After the Inauguration, Louis Pasteur Oration was delivered by Dr. Bernadette Abela-Ridder; followed by S. N. Madhusudana Oration by Dr. S. K. Shankar, Emeritus Professor of Neuropathology, NIMHANS, Bangalore. A total of 17 lead lectures, 24 select oral & 60 poster presentations were made during the 2 day conference. A Round Table discussion on “Dog Population Management for Rabies Control” was also organized on 10th July 2016.

            The conference concluded on 10th July 2016 with the following recommendations towards achieving “Dog mediated human rabies free India by 2030”.

  1. Reassessing the burden of rabies in humans and animals.
  2. Mapping the regional resources and expertise and building National capacity.
  3. Mobilizing strong political commitment.
  4. Improving availability and affordability of vaccines and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG), especially at the village / taluka level.
  5. Compulsory licensing of pet dogs.
  6. Monitoring & evaluation of ABC programme and its implementation on scientific basis.
  7. Initiating the process for notification of rabies in the humans.
  8. Expanding the network of rabies diagnostic laboratories in India.
  9. Explore the feasibility of sourcing canine vaccines from OIE vaccine bank.
  10. Maintaining uniformity in anti rabies vaccination schedule.
  11. Study the circulation of rabies virus in wild animals.
  12. Large scale training programmes for Veterinarians on collection of brain samples from suspected cases, packing and transportation to laboratories.
  13. Involve local community / public in programmes.
  14. Seek support from international agencies such as WHO, OIE, Private sectors and other stake holders.
  15. To approach National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Government of India to revise the plan of National Rabies Control Programme in the context of WHO mandate of dog mediated human rabies free world by 2030.
  16. To establish a “Rabies Network of India” under APCRI to expedite, coordinate, liaise the concerned organizations and institutions and work towards better prevention and control of rabies activities in India.
  17. To start “mass dog vaccination campaign” as a demonstration project of 3-5 years duration covering Bangalore.
  18. To recommend WHO for revision of guidelines on rabies PEP with specific reference to application of RIGs.  

Contributed by Dr. D. H. Ashwath Narayana, Vice- President, APCRI & Professor & Head, Department of Community Medicine, KIMS, Bangalore and Dr. G. Sampath, President, APCRI.  Dr. H S Ravish, Organizing Secretary, APCRICON 2016, Dr. Reeta S Mani and Dr Shrikrishna Isloor, Organizing Joint Secretaries, APCRICON 2016. More information on APCRI is available at www.apcri.org.