Scientific Day 2018

The greatest asset of the Epicentre research group is its organic relationship with MSF. Behind the scenes, our shared story is written, the story of committed individuals, projects, experiences, risks taken and results shared. This is the story that our scientific day tells each year.

For several years, MSF has been involved in developing pediatric interventions. Many children first visit the doctor or are hospitalized with an infectious disease, often accompanied by malnutrition. The healthcare teams must, therefore, consider the usefulness of systematic antibiotic treatment, the risk of acquiring a nosocomial infection, possibly with a resistant pathogen, and the effect that supplemental nutrition for mothers during pregnancy can have on the immunological response to oral vaccines.

Etiological diagnosis and treatment of severe infections remain difficult questions as well. Thus, MSF and Epicentre, along with the Institut Pasteur, have begun developing a new rapid diagnostic test that is suitable for use in the areas where we work. Although this project did not reach its objectives, lessons learned will be described. Another approach will be presented with regards to pediatric tuberculosis, for which the objective is to determine how to best use existing methods.

The improvement of healthcare practices remains an important direction for our work. The third session will illustrate this point through several evaluations: the efficacy of systematic administration of antituberculosis treatment to patients infected with HIV, the place that recently developed medications for hepatitis C have in MSF programs, for the treatment of resistant tuberculosis, and finally the impact of ciprofloxacin in the response to meningitis epidemics in Niger.

After the poster session, we will return to the emergency situations in which Epicentre has supported MSF. This year, for example, this ambition has been realized in Bangladesh, northern Cameroon, Iraq, and Yemen. We will see how our work has helped clarify operational decisions and support MSF’s public statements.

The program below is a testament to our intention of placing research at the heart of healthcare programs and thereby impacting national policies. But this is not the only aspect of what is, in reality, a multidisciplinary approach.We have assembled a group of colleagues who will discuss their personal experiences regarding the question: “What can research change?”