The 15th ASCODD will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh during 28-30 January 2020 with the theme:
"Typhoid, cholera, other enteric diseases and their relationship to nutritional disorders: Persisting challenges for LMICs in an era of humanitarian crisis".

The theme and significance of the conference is centred on two major burdens of enteric bacterial diseases in this decade: Cholera and Typhoid which together cause 23 million episodes and 300,000 deaths globally.

The bulk of this health challenge resides in Asia and Africa, and in humanitarian crises globally. In addition, growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is raising the spectre that these two diseases could soon become untreatable with currently available drugs.

The conference programme focuses on the latest issues in enteric infections, nutrition, policy and practice. It includes four symposia on subjects of global interest:

  Typhoid conjugate vaccine: prospects for use in Asia and Africa

Typhoid fever affects over 20 million people worldwide annually, with an estimated 200,000 fatalities, primarily in lower income countries with poor sanitation including many countries in Africa and Asia. The burden of disease and mortality is increasingly seen in young children and adults. Control and elimination of typhoid fever remains a major intervention for high incidence areas. The discussion will focus on WHO and GAVI recommended vaccination with the new typhoid conjugate vaccine as an effective measure for control of the disease.

  Ending cholera 2030: Initiatives and challenges

Cholera, an ancient disease which affects 3 million globally with 100,000 deaths, still causes large outbreaks in Asia and Africa with both epidemic and endemic potential as well as a large number of deaths in humanitarian crises, with most recent surges in Yemen, Syria, South Sudan, and Mozambique. A new strategy "Ending Cholera-A Global Roadmap to 2030" was launched alongside the SDGs in 2017 with the goal of eliminating cholera in at least 20 affected countries by 2030. ASCODD’s main agenda since 1981 has been cholera, and this year also we will have a lot to offer on treatment and prophylaxis with the conference being held in Dhaka which hosts the largest diarrhoeal hospital and research centre for the disease. The symposium will provide information on the plans for cholera control, of the treatment modality, and of how the response to humanitarian crises globally is supported by icddr,b scientists and staff.

  Environmental enteropathy, gut microbiota and childhood malnutrition

In the developing world, at least one third of all children are malnourished which is leading indirectly to higher rates of infectious diseases in addition to other maladies. The gut encounters millions of microorganisms and recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiota in children in developing countries predispose both the risk and recovery from diseases. Metagenomic studies have shown that the impact of enteric diseases in the gut can lead to microbial community disruption. The impact of these different components can have adverse effects on the health and development of young children in LMICs which can lead to gut enteropathy, growth faltering and retardation. These effects can manifest as stunting and loss of cognitive development in young children. The elucidation of the complex relationship of the different factors predisposing to malnutrition, microbiome and gut enteropathy will be discussed in the symposium. Newly emerging insights in mechanism and treatment from Bangladesh and elsewhere will also be presented.

  Antimicrobial Resistance and its impact on treatment of enteric infections

AMR overwhelms the world as the most menacing health hazards of 21st century. The inappropriate use of antibiotics in patients as well as in animal feed and livestock underlines the fact that a One Health approach is needed to control the problem. The unprecedented emergence of drug resistant superbugs of the kinds of Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumanii and Shigella spp. are extremely worrying with no resort at hand. Countries are already reporting extensively drug resistant strains of S. Typhi that are refrectaory to Ceftriaxone - an alarming situation calling for control measures to be implemented urgently. The symposium would provide a very timely and ripe occasion and a platform to address AMR global and local contexts and allow invaluable discourse and dialogue relevant to understanding the mechanisms and transmission dynamics of AMR and needs for policy formulation.

* Oral and poster presentations will be selected by expert panel members after review of abstracts submitted by the participants.