Responding to Emerging Diseases Requires Multi-disciplinary and One Health Training, Egypt (original) (raw)

Background: In Egypt, several infectious diseases of zoonotic origin have emerged in recent years like H1N1, MERSCoV and H5N1, the latter now endemic. Responding to these diseases requires a workforce trained in multidisciplinary approaches to zoonotic disease research and control. It is difficult to deliver multidisciplinary and one health training globally because of the limited number of higher education programs that support such training. In low and middle-income countries where the impacts of emerging zoonotic diseases are felt more directly there is enthusiasm for such training and the use of e-technology can foster international, long-term collaborations. Objectives: To provide health training for infectious diseases research and to foster multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: We designed and simultaneously held two training workshops, one focused on pediatric infectious diseases and another on emerging infectious diseases to meet the objective. Both workshops had pre-and post-workshop activities for multidisciplinary methods with an emphasis on the use of mobile technologies to enhance emerging infectious diseases surveillance and research for public health professionals in Egypt. Faculty and scientists from all universities in Egypt and from the National Research Center were invited to participate.