For the last three weeks LSTM has been playing host to the 33rd annual European Course on Tropical Epidemiology (ECTE). It is the 3rd time that LSTM has hosted the course on basic epidemiology and biostatistics as it moves among a number of various European centres of tropical medicine and public health, hosted by a different institution each year.
The course was open to staff working in low and middle income countries as health programme managers or those with an interest in public health in tropical settings. The course participants came from as far afield as Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Egypt and Australia as well as attracting those from Italy, Germany and Norway.
Over the three weeks participants have taken part in group work, exercises and lectures delivered and facilitated by researchers from a whole host of European institutions on topics relevant to epidemiology and disease control in high burden settings. Co-ordinated by LSTM’s Professor Luis Cuevas and Professor Brian Faragher, the course has been a great success and has seen participants leave with a better understanding of the close relationship between epidemiology and medical statistics.
“It has been a very intensive, but interesting course for those taking part,” said Professor Cuevas, “I hope that is has not only provided the participants the tools that will help them in their field of work, but that it has enabled them to form professional relationships with other participants and lecturers that will benefit them in years to come. The hands on exercises and practical application of skills were particularly welcomed, as the emergency situation in West Africa highlights the need for skills in epidemiology to conduct investigations and control of outbreaks.”
Next year’s ECTE will be hosted by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, Switzerland.