8 - 11 December 2009

GUIDELINES FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSION FOR THE 4TH ASIAN DENGUE RESEARCH NETWORK MEETING 9 & 10 DECEMBER 2009

(Deadline for receipt of abstracts : 30th September 2009)

Participants are invited to submit abstracts for oral/poster presentation.
Abstracts should be submitted in English.
All presenting authors must register as delegates for "Emerging Infectious Diseases 2009 meeting".
The preferred method of submission is electronically via email: files@papersubmission.com (please only submit abstracts once) In case of difficulties, please telephone (65) 6339 8687.
Faxed submissions will not be accepted. Abstracts will not be processed until the registration fee has been received and acknowledged.
Abstracts should be received on or before 30th September 2009.

Abstract Format:

Abstracts should contain not more than 300 words of text in Times New Roman, size 12 pts. Abstract title must be in CAPITAL letters and bold print. Do not indent.
Beginning on a separate line, list the authors' names (see example) underlining that of the presenting author DO NOT INCLUDE DEGREES OR PROFESSIONAL TITLES (Prof,Dr, MD, etc).
On a separate line, type the names of departments, institutions and countries. Leave one blank line between the title / author block and the body of the abstract.
Abstract text must be single-spaced and justified at the left margin only.
Do not indent paragraphs. The use of tables, graphs and other types of images in abstracts are not permitted.

Abstract Content:

State the specific aim of the study.
State methods and subjects used, as relevant.
Summarise results obtained. State conclusions reached.

All submitted abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Programme Committee whose decision is final. Authors will be notified of acceptance by 20th October 2009.

Abstracts selected for oral presentation will be notified regarding the length of the presentation in the acceptance letters. Detailed instructions on poster presentations will be sent out with acceptance letters.

An Abstract Sample

USE OF AN IN-HOUSE REAL-TIME DENGUE RT-PCR AND COMMERCIAL SEROLOGY KITS FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF DENGUE INFECTION

Loo LH, Lin RTP, Tee NWS, Ooi EE
Microbiology Laboratory, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.

Dengue infection is an important differential diagnosis for undifferentiated fever in Singapore, and rapid diagnosis is essential for clinical management and public health investigation. Most children present early in the course of illness. We examined the usefulness of an in-house real-time RT-PCR protocol versus the use of a rapid serological test to diagnose dengue infection in the acute stage. We also compared 3 commercially-available dengue EIA kits.

Real-time RT-PCR was performed using an in-house protocol, targeted at the 4 dengue serotypes, on the Rotor-Gene RG - 3000 instrument (Corbett Research, Australia). An immunochromatographic kit, Dengue DUO IgM and IgG Rapid Strip Test (DRT) (Panbio Ltd, Australia) was used for routine serology testing. Samples were also tested on two other kits for comparison - Dengue Duo IgM and IgG capture ELISA (Panbio Ltd, Australia) and Dengue Fever Virus ELISA IgM (Focus Technologies Inc, USA).

Out of 180 samples, dengue infection was detected by either DRT serology or RT-PCR in 112 (62.2%), by serology only in 81 (45.0%) and by RT-PCR only in 86 (46.7%). The DRT, Dengue Duo IgM/IgG and Focus IgM EIA kits were comparable in positivity rates, although there were differences in the IgM positive samples detected by the Focus IgM EIA compared with both kits from Panbio. The Panbio kits were able differentiate antibody responses consistent with primary and secondary infections.

In the acute stage of infection, use of both real-time RT-PCR and serology testing would detect substantially more cases of dengue than the use of either test alone.

Deadline for Abstract Submission: Wednesday, 30th September, 2009 (via EMAIL only to files@papersubmission.com)