Scientific Day 2024

Every year, Epicentre's Scientific Day offers an opportunity to learn about our ongoing activities and projects, as well as to engage in discussions on relevant topics. Each session will foster in-depth reflection on the impact of conducted studies and their practical applications. We encourage you to save the date and register in advance: May 23, 2024 at Salons de l'Aveyron (17 Rue de l'Aubrac, 75012 Paris) or live on our website.

Schedules indicated in UTC+1 may be subject to change.

9h10 | Session "Contexts of violence"

Moderators: Sarah Chateau, MSF France et Claire Nicolet, MSF France

• High mortality and violence among refugees and returnees from West Darfur, Sudan arriving in Chad, 2023: results from three retrospective mortality surveys | Emmanuel Grellety ou Erica Simons, Epicentre
• Mortality and Violence in Haiti in 2023: 2 population-based surveys | Brahima Toure, Epicentre

9h55 | Session "Challenges and Opportunities to improve access"

Moderator: Farah Hossain, MSF Japan

• A concern for large-scale treatment access: High prevalence of active HCV infection among Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals residing in camps, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh | Birgit Schramm, Epicentre
• Effect of mass campaigns using a single fractional dose of PCV on pneumococcal carriage | Issaka Soumana, Epicentre

11h20 | Session "Models of care"

Moderators: Patricia Asero Ochieng, President of the International Community of Women Living with HIV in Kenya &Christopher Mambula, MSF France

• One size fits all?  Exploring the challenges and lessons of implementing models of HIV Care in Carnot, Central African Republic | Valentina Carnimeo & Pascale Lissouba, Epicentre
• Exploring patient preferences and outcomes: the example of new differentiated models of HIV care delivery in Uganda and the DRC among people living with HIV | Jihane Ben-Farhat, Epicentre
• Community household child contact investigation for tuberculosis | Anca Vasiliu, IRD

12h20 | Session "Hepatitis E"

Moderator: Iza Ciglenecki, MSF Suisse

• From outbreak response to policy changes: MSF use of the hepatitis E vaccine and operational research
  • Efficacy & Safety of hepatitis E vaccine in pregnancy - Results of the vaccination campaign in Bentiu, South Sudan (provisional title) | Etienne Gignoux, Epicentre 
  • Hepatitis E outbreak response in Fangak, South Sudan: coverage and acceptance of a vaccination campaign targeting women of reproductive (provisional title) | Joseph Aumuller, Epicentre

14h15 | Session "Tuberculosis"

Moderators: Cathy Hewison, MSF France & Prof. Stavia Turyahabwe, Ugandan tuberculosis and leprosy control program at the Ministry of Health

• ‘You can save a life if we get those algorithms right’. A multi-country mixed-methods evaluation of new paediatric TB diagnostic algorithms | Sofia Payotte & Giulia Scarpa, Epicentre
• Treatment of children and adolescents with MDR/RR-TB regimens containing bédaquiline and delamanid: results from the endTB observational study | Mathieu Bastard, WHO
• endTB clinical trial: results in key drug-resistant TB patient subgroups | Maelenn Gouillou, Epicentre

15h15 | Session "Outbreak I Ebola"

Moderators: Kerry Dierberg, MSF France & Prof. Steve Ahuka, INRB DRC

• Effectiveness of rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination during the 10th Ebola virus disease epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a retrospective observational analysis | Sophie Meakin, Epicentre
• Case fatality risk among individuals vaccinated with rVSVΔG-ZEBOV-GP: a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with confirmed Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | Rebecca Coulborn, Epicentre

16h30 | Session "Outbreak II"

Moderator: Ismael Adjaho, MSF WaCA & Prof. Steve Ahuka, INRB DRC

• Measles confirmation and seroprevalence: adressing the challenges of sample collection and laboratory procedures | Céline Langendorf, Birgit Nikolay, Epicentre
• Multi-country validation of a simple alert system to improve measles outbreak response | Catherine Eisenhauer, Epicentre
• Description and analysis of the response to the diphtheria epidemic in West Africa | Yves Amevoin, Epicentre & Franck Ale, MSF WaCA