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SSM Newsletter
November 2013 -The Newsletter of the Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology -Issue 06
SSM office bearers
President Prof. Vasanthi Thevanesam Vice president Prof. Jennifer Perera Secretary Ms. Charitha Mendis Treasurer Prof. Nadira Karunaweera Assistant treasurer Dr. Susiji Wickramasinghe Editor Prof. Vasanthi Thevanesam Council members Dr. Faseeha Noordeen Dr. Dhammika Magana-Arachchi Prof. Sunil Chandra Dr. Enoka Corea Dr. Suneth Agampodi Newsletter production team : Ms. Charitha Mendis Dr. Champa Ratnatunga Ms. Sitara Mediwaka Dr. Saranga Sumathipala
Contact details Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology
Contents Annual scientific sessions of the
Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology …………………
2
Jaffna Chapter –SSM …………………………………. 6
Upcoming events………………………………………. 7
Article…………………………………………………….. 9
Sri Lanka Journal of Infectious Diseases……………. 10
Local bibliography……………………………………… 11
News in Microbiology…………………………………... 12
Annual subscription for 2013………………………….. 12
1 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology
The Annual Sessions of the Society was successfully held at the Post Graduate Institute
of Science, University of Peradeniya on the 25th
of October 2013. The programme
consisted of 3 keynote lectures, 20 free papers and 12 poster presentations.
Professor Natkunam Ketheesan, Professor of Infection and Immunity from the School of
Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, James Cook University, Australia spoke on
“Double Trouble – why diabetics are more susceptible to Burkholderia pseudomallei
infection” – a fascinating insight into a very under recognized infection in tropical
countries, including Sri Lanka. Professor Sinnathamby Noble Surendran from the Department of Zoology, Faculty of
Science, University of Jaffna, speaking on „Brackish water breeding adaptation of
dengue vectors and its implication for dengue control in Sri Lanka‟ drew our attention to
the adaptability of an arthropod whose natural breeding places were under threat! He
also demonstrated very ably that novel research is possible in the most difficult of
circumstances! Mr Sachith Kalana Muthukumarana of Fonterra Brands (Pvt) Ltd. Lanka gave an
entertaining and instructive address on the “use of beneficial microorganisms in the food
industry – a closer look on pre and probiotics. His talk brought home the role of science
in industry and the need for healthy interactions between the academic world and
industry. The free papers and posters covered a wide area of vector borne parasitic and viral
infections, antimicrobial activity of natural products and detection of microbes and their
products in clinical disease, food and interestingly, even in bats!!
The conference was well attended with 72 participants. SSM is a Society which creates
spaces for interactions of scientists from many disciplines and the Conference amply
played this role, with many discussions taking place during the tea and lunch breaks.
The Conference committee, headed by Dr Faseeha Noordeen and ably assisted by
Dr Susijith Wickremasinghe, Ms Charitha Mendis and many others are to be
congratulated and thanked for their effective organization which involved hours of hard
work. The production of the Book of abstracts was a „first‟ for SSM. We are grateful to
the International Research Centre, University of Peradeniya for funding the Conference
book of abstracts. Having successfully completed the Second Annual Scientific Sessions of the Sri Lankan
Society, we will start preparations for the Third Annual Scientific Sessions which will be
held in October 2014. We do hope that all those who participated this year and those
who could not will look forward to this conference and help us to further expand the
space for interdisciplinary interactions. Prof. Vasanthi Thevanesam
2 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
A snapshot view of the conference Venue - The Postgraduate Institute of Science in the beautiful University of Peradeniya
Our keynote speakers
Prof Ketheesan
Prof Surendran
Mr Muthukumarana 3 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
Proceedings
What we did
Listened to scientific presentations ….from many places …..on many topics
4 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
……read and discussed the poster presentations
..…and received our certificates 5 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
Jaffna Chapter – SSM
We are happy to inform the SSM membership that the Jaffna Chapter has been formed.
President - Prof Noble Surendran
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science,University of Jaffna
Secretary - Dr Mathy Ambalavanar
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna 6 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
Upcoming events
WORKSHOP On
Extraction, Screening and Bioassays for the
Analysis of Microbial and Plant Products
Including
Extraction techniques and Bioassay guided fractionation Screening for antibacterial activity
Determination of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)
Detection of antioxidant and antifungal activity
Lectures, demonstrations and hands on practicals with
discussions on protocols, concepts and trouble shooting
4th
(Wednesday), 5th
(Thursday) & 6th
(Friday) December 2013
(8 am – 5.30 pm)
Department of Microbiology Faculty of Medicine &
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
University of Peradeniya
Institute of Fundamental Studies(IFS), Hantane, Kandy
Pre-registration essential
Closing date 22.11.12
Numbers limited – Please apply early
Charges: SSM member– Rs 8500/= (please quote your membership no)
SSM non member – Rs 10,000/=
For more information contact
Priyanga Dharmaratne
Tel:
Prof. V. Thevanesam
0773157451 0772524947
E‐mail: [email protected]
7 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
A Guest Lecture
on
“New concepts in infection-associated glomerulonephritis –
Staphylococcus aureus, an emerging threat”
by
Anjali A. Satoskar MD
Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA
Date - 02nd
January 2014 Time - 12.00noon -1.00pm
Venue - Board room, Faculty of Medicine,
Colombo
Jointly organized by
Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology and
the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine,
Colombo
All are welcome!
8 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
ARTICLE
“Don’t forget the migrants”: exploring preparedness and response strategies
to combat the potential spread of MERS-CoV virus through migrant workers
in Sri Lanka Kolitha Wickramage
1, Sharika Peiris
1, Suneth B Agampodi
2,3
1 Health Department, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Colombo, Sri Lanka
2 Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences,
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka 3
Tropical Disease Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine and Allied Sciences,
Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Saliyapura, Sri Lanka Grant information: The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting
this work. From September 2012 to July 2013, 81 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with Middle East
respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), including 45 deaths (a case fatality ratio of 55%)
have been reported from eight countries. Human-to-human transmission is now confirmed showing
potential for another pandemic of zoonotic disease, with an extremely high mortality rate. Effective
surveillance strategies are required in countries with a high influx of migrants from the Middle East
to mitigate the probable importation of MERS-CoV. We discuss here the risk of MERS-CoV in
major labour sending countries and list the probable strategies for control and prevention of
MERS-CoV using Sri Lanka as an example. It is conservatively estimated that 10% of Sri Lanka‟s
population work as international labour migrants (1.8 to 2 million workers), with 93% residing in the
Middle East. An average of 720 workers depart each day, with the majority of these workers (71%)
departing to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (the country with 81.5% of total MERS-CoV cases). We
also describe other inbound migration categories such as tourists and resident visa holders
relevant to the context of preparedness and planning. The importance of partnerships between
public health authorities at national and regional levels with labour migration networks to establish
institutional and/or policy mechanisms are highlighted for ensuring effective preparedness and
response planning. Strategies that can be taken by public health authorities working in both labour
sending and labor receiving counties are also described. The strategies described here may be
useful for other labor sending country contexts in Asia with a high frequency and volume of migrant
workers to and from the Gulf region.
Sent by Dr. Suneth Agampodi Original article is available in: http://f1000research.com/articles/2-163/v1
9 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
Sri Lanka Journal of Infectious Diseases
Vol 3, No 2 (2013) is now online
Table of contents
Editorial
Editorial Vol.3(2)
Vasanthi Thevanesam 1
Review Articles
Chronic wounds and their management and application in a contemporary Sri Lankan
hospital setting
JMRWW Wadinamby 2-16
Research Articles
Prevalence of Enterobius vermicularis infection among schoolchildren attending four
selected schools in the Hambantota district of Sri Lanka
S Gunawardena, H Gunatilleke, M Ismail 7-20
Diagnostic efficacy of rapid assays used for the detection of hepatitis B virus surface
antigen
EWS Chameera, F Noordeen, H Pandithasundara, AMSB Abeykoon 21-27
Massive hepatitis A outbreak in Sri Lanka in 2009: an indication of increasing
susceptibility and epidemiological shift?
NJ Dahanayaka, T Kiyohara, SB Agampodi 28-30
Case Reports
Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis in a foreign resident visa holder and implications of
a growing inbound migrant flow to Sri Lanka
K Wickramage, S Samaraweera, S Peiris, J Elvitigala, DATND Patabendige 31-36
A case series of nontyphoidal Salmonella bacteraemia–some food for thought!
FN Mubarak, P Chandrasiri 37-42
Nocardia Keratitis : A case report
SK Jayatilleke, DHH Wariyapola, KAE Fernando, YWS Suranadee 43-45
The journal Can be accessed at http://www.sljol.info/index.php/SLJID/issue/current
The next issue of SLJID will be released in February 2014
Your contributions will be welcome
10 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
LOCAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aiming to make your local literary survey more effective and less strenuous, SSM has
introduced a local bibliography section to the SSM newsletter In this section we are planning to collect and collate details of published as well as unpublished research, in various disciplines of microbiology in Sri Lanka. We appreciate the support of the SSM members in the collection of the research details
under following guidelines :
Research title Names of the authors and their
affiliations Year
If your research has been published, its details / if not, the place where it
(dissertation/project report) is available.
We have published local bibliography on Staphylococcal spp. and Mycobacteria spp. in
previous newsletters. Any further additions to these bibliographies are welcome. Please
help to keep the bibliography up-to-date. We would also value your contribution to this Compendium of bibliographies! A bibliography of work
done in Sri Lanka on any microbe would be a valuable addition and you are more than welcome to
provide us with such a bibliography which we will publish in the newsletter with you as the compiler.
Join us in our endeavour to make life easier for those who are searching the literature.
11 | SSM Newsletter November 2013
News in Microbiology
Fifth Dengue virus serotype found
Dengue virus infections are the most commonest vector-borne infection in Sri Lanka with four
known serotypes of the virus in existence. The diversity of these serotypes play a major role in the
pathogenesis of the disease process which paves the way towards dengue haemorrhagic fever.
Adding to the burden of the disease, researchers have discovered a fifth serotype which would
complicate the issues of present diagnostics for dengue viral infection and the dengue vaccines in
the pipeline. For more information: http://news.sciencemag.org/health/2013/10/first-new-dengue-virus-type-50-years
Annual subscription for 2013
SSM Members are requested to submit their annual subscription for 2013 (Rs. 1000/-).
Subscriptions can be directly paid into the following account. Please send the
receipt of your payment with your details (including SSM membership no.)
to:
Dr.Susiji Wickramasinghe, Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya.
Keep a copy of your receipt!
Account No : 026212016510
Name : The Sri Lankan Society for Microbiology
Bank: Nations Trust Bank
Branch : Peradeniya Branch
12 | SSM Newsletter November 2013