The Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (MBDS)

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

is a self-organised and sub-regional co-operation spearheaded by health ministries from member countries to collaborate on

infectious disease An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

surveillance and control. The co-operation focuses on cross-border co-operation at selected sites and has matured through several phases of work. PRO/MBDS is a component of the outbreak reporting system

ProMED-mail Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (also known as ProMED-mail, abbreviated ProMED) is among the largest publicly available emerging diseases and outbreak reporting systems in the world. The purpose of ProMED is to promote communication amon ...

History

The Ministries of Health of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2001 in

Kunming Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...

, China, with the Regional Coordinating office agreed to be located in the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Thailand.

H1N1 Pandemic

MBDS officials surveyed generally rated the organization's response to the

H1N1 pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...

favorably. The two factors that they listed as the most important in determining an effective pandemic response were national preparedness plans developed after exercises in 2006 as well as strong political leadership. Coordination within MBDS was rated as a less important factor, suggesting that the development of preparedness plans may have been more effective than the organizational structure itself.

Structure

Executive Board

* Cambodia: Prof. Sann Chan Soeung (Deputy Director General,

Ministry of Health Ministry of Health may refer to: Note: Italics indicate now-defunct ministries. * Ministry of Health (Argentina) * Ministry of Health (Armenia) * Australia: ** Ministry of Health (New South Wales) * Ministry of Health (The Bahamas) * Ministry of ...

) * China: Dr. Wang Liying (Director,

) * Lao PDR: Dr. Bounlay Phommasack (Deputy Director General,

) * Myanmar: Prof. Saw Lwin (Deputy Director General,

) * Thailand: Dr. Kumnuan Ungchusak (Senior Expert, Ministry of Public Health) * Vietnam: Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long (Vice Director,

)

MBDS Coordinating Office

Dr. Moe Ko Oo MBDS Coordinator, c/o Ministry of Public Health

Achievements

MBDS has applied

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

and

GIS A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing Geographic data and information, geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with Geographic information system software, sof ...

, initiated tabletop exercises (TTXs) on Pandemic Preparedness in country and regional levels in 2006 and 2007. It is prepared to conduct at least one outbreak investigation, TTX or drill at each cross-border site each year, seeking to conduct joint investigation of a

zoonotic disease A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a bacterium, virus, parasite or prion) that has jumped from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human. ...

as a particular priority. In May 2007, the extension of MOU was signed by the six MBDS health ministers in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, for indefinite time period. With the increasing number of cross-border sites, MBDS developed a new 6-year action plan focusing on seven inter- related core strategies. It piloted cross-border co-operation, with the exchange of regular disease information on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis, cross-border meetings, monitoring and evaluation, multi-sector engagement (especially immigration, local authorities), cross-border epidemiologic case history, cross-border

medical care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profess ...

and clinical follow-up to nearby provincial areas. It has used 2-way ICT-based communications between local, provincial and central levels in routine surveillance reporting and outbreak investigation (examples include equipment and protocols for communications through internet, cell phone SMS messaging, satellite telephones, telephone hotline, email). It has also trained field epidemiologist and health officials of Member Countries through treating FETP alumni as training staff for countries to establish new long-term and short-term epidemiology training programs, at the same time enhancing short-course training in each member country by supporting curriculum design and training or providing lecturers/expert. During 2006-2007, 110 workers were trained in either field epidemiology and

disease surveillance Disease surveillance is an epidemiological practice by which the spread of disease is monitored in order to establish patterns of progression. The main role of disease surveillance is to predict, observe, and minimize the harm caused by outbreak, ...

, analytical techniques or social, political and economic aspects of border health. An unprecedented joint avian influenza investigation was triggered when an infected Lao citizen was found in Thailand. Since then, Vietnam and Lao PDR also carried out joint investigations for outbreaks of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. MBDS partners with

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

(RF),

Nuclear Threat Initiative The Nuclear Threat Initiative, generally referred to as NTI, is a non-profit organization located in Washington, D.C. The American foreign policy think tank was founded in 2001 by former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn and describes itself as a "nonprofit ...

(NTI),

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

, RAND,

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

(WHO), United Nations System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC), US Agency for International Development (

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

)/Kenan Institute,

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

(ADB),

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

(ASEAN),

, InSTEDD, ChangeFusion, Opendream.

References

General references

* https://www.scribd.com/doc/26136807/Development-and-Implementation-of-SMS-Disease-Surveillance-System-in-Mukdahan-Thailand-and-Savannakhet-Lao-PDR

* https://www.cdc.gov/globalidplan/9-priority_2.htm

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mekong Basin Disease Surveillance (Mbds) International organizations based in Asia Public health organizations Medical and health organisations based in Myanmar International medical and health organizations