This paper represents a collaborative effort by the Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) Working Group to collate data on the disease burden due to invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in participating Asian countries and territories; namely, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand. A review of both published and unpublished data revealed that the incidence of IPD in some countries is well documented by way of large, long-duration studies, while in other countries, much of the available data have been extrapolated from international studies or have come from small population studies of limited geographical coverage. This paper confirms that data regarding the incidence of IPD in Asia are grossly lacking and reinforces the need for urgent and more substantial studies.
The 7th Asian Vaccine Conference (ASVAC 2019) was held in Yangon, Myanmar from 13 to 15, September 2019. It brought together stakeholders in the field of vaccination to address challenges and issues relevant to clinical practice and immunization programs in the region. The conference themed "Immunization: sustaining health security in Asia", included pre-conference workshops, a Vaccinology Masterclass, plenary lectures, symposia, and poster presentations. There were over 700 participants ~ 400 local and 300 international from 31 countries ~ and 55 international and local speakers from 19 countries. An Asian EPI managers' meeting was also held on 11-12 September in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Myanmar, and was hosted by the Ministry of Health and Sports, Myanmar with support from World Health Organization, UNICEF and other partners. This inter-regional meeting aimed to strengthen the cooperation and collaboration of EPI Managers and others involved in implementing immunization programs in the region. The conference was organized by the Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific (IPAP) and hosted by Myanmar Pediatric Society and the Ministry of Health and Sports, Myanmar. Other partners included the Confederation of Meningitis Organization, Philippine Foundation of Vaccination, Pediatric Infection Disease Society of the Philippines, Asia Pacific Alliance for the Control of Influenza, PATH, ROTA Council, International Society of Tropical Pediatrics, Asian Society for Pediatric Infection Diseases and other partners. Previous conferences have been held in Siem Reap (2009), Manila (2010), Jakarta (2011), Cebu (2013), Hanoi (2015) and Singapore (2017). The 8th Asian Vaccine Conference will be held in Penang, Malaysia in 2021 to further IPAP's vision of a world where no one suffers from a vaccine-preventable disease.
Aiming to further the Immunization Partners in Asia Pacific (IPAP)'s vision of a world where no one suffers from a vaccine preventable disease, the 8th Asian Vaccine Conference (ASVAC 2022) was held in Colombo, Sri Lanka and virtually from 15 to 18, September 2022 (www.asianvaccine.com). This conference followed those held in Siem Reap, Cambodia (2009), Manila, Philippines (2010), Jakarta, Indonesia (2011), Cebu, Philippines (2013), Hanoi, Vietnam (2015), Singapore (2017) and Naypyidaw and Yangon, Myanmar (2019). The ASVAC2022 themed "Immunization: in Era of Pandemics," commenced with the EPI Managers' Workshop, followed by pre-conference workshops and Vaccinology Masterclass, followed by the main conference featuring 5 plenary lectures, 6 partner-led symposia, free paper and poster presentations, and industry-supported lunch and evening sessions. There were over 1830 registered participants, with 112 attending in person and 998 virtually from 63 countries. The conference was organized by IPAP and hosted by the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Forum of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka College of Pediatricians, Sri Lanka College of Microbiologists and College of General Practitioners of Sri Lanka, with the support of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka. The 9th ASVAC is scheduled to be held in Davao City, Philippines in late 2023.
The 6th Asia Dengue Summit (ADS) themed "Road Map to Zero Dengue Death" was held in Thailand from 15th-16th June 2023. The summit was hosted by Tropical Medicine Cluster, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand in conjunction with Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute, The Thai Red Cross Society; Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University; and the Ministry of Public Health. The 6th ADS was convened by Asia Dengue Voice and Action (ADVA); Global Dengue and Aedes Transmitted Diseases Consortium (GDAC); Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network (SEAMEO TROPMED); Fondation Mérieux (FMx) and the International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases (ISNTD). Dengue experts from academia and research, and representatives from the Ministries of Health, Regional and Global World Health Organization (WHO) and International Vaccine Institute (IVI) participated in the three-day summit. With more than 51 speakers and 451 delegates from over 24 countries, 10 symposiums, and 2 full days, the 6th ADS highlighted the growing threat of dengue and its antigenic evolution, flagged the urgent need to overcome vaccine hesitancy and misinformation crisis, and focused on dengue control policies, newer diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines, travel-associated dengue, and strategies to improve community involvement.