News & Events
News & Events
Institut Pasteur Korea discussed `International Collaborations for Climate Change-Sensitive Infectious Diseases` with global experts
2023-12-04
Institut Pasteur Korea discussed
'International Collaborations for Climate Change-Sensitive Infectious Diseases' with global experts
- 18 experts from WHO, the Green Climate Fund, IVI, and others participated -
- Promoted the establishment of a global network for response
to climate change sensitive infectious diseases –
'International Collaborations for Climate Change-Sensitive Infectious Diseases' with global experts
- 18 experts from WHO, the Green Climate Fund, IVI, and others participated -
- Promoted the establishment of a global network for response
to climate change sensitive infectious diseases –
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Institut Pasteur Korea (IPK) held an international symposium both online and offline under the theme 'Fighting Infectious Diseases Sensitive to Climate Change' on Nov. 30.
This symposium illustrated how climate change is fueling the spread of infectious diseases and aggravating many other health problems. It assessed the prediction of displacement of a growing number of people, animals and infectious diseases due to the increase in the frequency and intensity of disasters associated with climate change.
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It provided example of past and current outbreaks already caused by climate change and illustrated how healthcare systems can cope with the outbreak rising risk with different scientific and medical advances.
The symposium featured 18 speakers from 9 countries in three sessions and panel discussions and drew over 200 attendees.
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In particular, speakers such as Dr. Anna C Fagre from Colorado State University delivered lectures on the topic of "Wildlife as sentinels for monitoring climate change impacts on health and disease emergence". She is also a member of "The Viral Emergence Research Initiative" (VERENA) that are developing the "science of the host-virus network" to predict and prevent the next pandemic using new analytic methods combining biology and disease ecology with network science and machine learning.
Dr. Anavaj Sakuntabhai from Institut Pasteur Paris, delivered a talk on "Effect of Ecosystem disturbance on emerging vector-borne diseases" and he illustrated how rising temperatures and precipitation are making temperate, northern or mountainous countries more susceptible to outbreaks of "southern" or “low land” diseases like Dengue. He is the director of the "Pasteur International Center for Research on Emerging Infectious Diseases" composed of multidisciplinary teams developing tools, networks and infrastructures necessary to respond quickly and effectively to future outbreaks.
Dr. Axel Timmermann from the Institute for Basic Science Center for Climate Physics presented on the topic "Using climate models to predict physical and other health hazards" sharing the latest climate change prediction modeling. Professor Byoung-Kuk Na from Gyeongsang National University shared his international efforts in collaboration with Southeast Asian countries to tackle malaria, while Dr. Seungtaek Kim, Head of the Zoonotic Virus Lab at Institut Pasteur Korea, presented research outcomes on the developing monoclonal antibodies therapeutics against viral diseases.
Byungkwon Lim, CEO of IPK, said, “Due to climate change, international research collaboration is becoming increasingly important. This symposium aimed to predict and analyze infectious diseases early in response to the climate crisis, while also establishing a global network for the rapid development of vaccines.”
The symposium also received congratulatory remarks from Ahn Cheol-Soo, a Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, Philippe Bertoux, the Ambassador of France to the Republic of Korea, and Kyungwon Rho, the Deputy Minister of the Office of R&D Policy at the Ministry of Science & ICT of the Republic of Korea.