On 2-6 October, 2011, the Brazilian Society for Microbiology (SBM) held the 26th Brazilian Congress on Microbiology at the world-famous Iguassu Falls in Parana, Brazil. As a result of the effective leadership and tireless efforts of SBM President Adalberto Pessoa Junior, University of Sao Paulo, the event was a resounding success and highlighted both the quality of science currently being realized in Brazil and the highly sophisticated microbiology community that has developed. The meeting drew over 2,000 attendees from across Latin America, the United States, and Europe.

Through the efforts of the ASM Ambassador to Brazil, Irma Rivera, University of Sao Paulo, the collaborative relationship between ASM and SBM were highly visible throughout the Congress. ASM member Arturo Casadevall, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, gave the keynote presentation following the opening ceremonies of the Congress. His lecture, entitled, "Martians, Dinosaurs, and Mammals: Nihilistic Thoughts on the Origin of Virulence" was truly one of the highlights of the meeting. Prior to Casadevall's presentation, Todd Peterson, ASM International Affairs, gave a brief presentation on ASM in Portuguese.

In addition to the activities during the opening ceremonies, ASM also sponsored the participation of ASM Country Liaison to Peru, Marcel Gutierrez-Correa, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, who delivered three presentations during the Latin American ISME Symposium coordinated by the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME). The two-day symposium covered a wide range of topics on environmental microbiology through 28 presentations by world-renowned scientists including ISME President Steven Lindow, Past ISME President Hilary Lappin- Scott, and ASM Treasurer James Tiedje.

SBM also promoted the collaborative relationship between ASM and SBM by providing ASM with a large and centralized complimentary booth on the exhibit floor where visitors could learn about ASM and register for membership. Promotional materials from all ASM departments were displayed at the booth hosted by Peterson and student volunteers. Peterson and Rivera also took advantage of the opportunity to meet with other ASM Ambassadors and Country Liaisons in attendance to discuss planned activities in the region, share experiences, and discuss improvements for the program.

ASM greatly appreciates the significant efforts of ASM Ambassador Rivera in the coordination of the ASM activities, as well as the enthusiastic support of Pessoa Junior and the rest of SBM.

Strengthening Ties with India

In recognition of the enormous potential for scientific collaboration, ASM and the Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI) worked together to develop a series of ASM activities at the 52nd Annual Conference in Chandigarh, India, 3-6 November 2011. The objective was to build stronger and more active ties between ASM and India's well-established community of microbiologists. The collaboration was spearheaded by the ASM Ambassador to the Indian Ocean Region, Sunil Lal, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, who has endeavored to promote ASM's presence in India over the last nine years. In addition to Lal, the ASM delegation included Larry Mc- Daniel, University of Mississippi, Dhan Kalvakolanu, University of Maryland, and Todd Peterson, ASM International Affairs.

ASM was formally invited to the conference by R. C. Sobti, Vice Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh, who welcomed the delegation and several of India's scientific leaders to his home for an official reception. Sobti also highlighted ASM's presence during the opening ceremonies of the AMI Annual Meeting where over 1,400 microbiologists from across the region were in attendance.

On 3 November, prior to the opening ceremonies, McDaniel and Kalvakolanu delivered a highly anticipated AMI-ASM workshop on "Scientific Writing and Publishing" to a select group of postdoctoral students and young faculty. The goal of this one-day workshop was to promote the dissemination of research from India through instruction on skills needed to write and submit a scientific manuscript. Registration was limited to 60 participants; however, over 100 additional requests were submitted to AMI and placed on a waiting list in case space became available. The workshop was extremely well received, and several academic leaders from across India requested that ASM repeat the program at their institution.

On 4 November, Lal cochaired an ASM-AMI scientific session with AMI President Prof. R.C. Kuhad on "Microbial Pathogenesis." During the session, McDaniel delivered a presentation entitled, "Bacterial Pathogenesis: Models for Studying Host-Pathogen Interactions," Kalvakolanu presented on "The War of Viruses against Tumor Suppressors: Bacteria as Combat Tools," Lal presented the talk "A Systems Biology Approach to Influenza A Virus Research: New Insights into Innate Defence Mechanisms, Cell Survival, Signalling & Proliferation," Paola Mastromarino, University La Sapienza, presented on "Vaginal Microbiota as Health Indicator," and Peterson gave a talk regarding ASM programs and services.

Throughout the conference, Peterson and Lal hosted a complimentary ASM booth, where 90 new members joined the Society. Of particular interest were the opportunities to network with ASM members and the complimentary journal included in membership for lower-middle income countries. Finally, ASM congratulates Ponmariappan Sarkaraisamy, who was awarded the ASM Best Prize during the closing ceremonies for his work on Induction of Type 1 and Type 2 Immune Response against Light Chain of Botuliaum Neurotoxin Type B Synthetic Gene Construct. Lal pledged his commitment to working closely with both ASM and AMI to further develop this relationship and increase scientific exchange between the two societies. Said Lal, "The AMI and ASM are two big microbiology societies in the world with similar and complementing objectives. It thus makes a lot of sense in these two societies to join hands and work together to greater heights and benefit from each other's expertise. In the years to come we will certainly see increased participation and more collaborative programs to mutually benefit both societies."

ASM would like to express its appreciation to Vice Chancellor Sobti, Organizing Secretary Prince Sharma, AMI President R.C. Kuhad, and ASM Ambassador to India Sunil Lal for their generous hospitality and significant efforts to make this ASM-AMI collaboration a success.

LabCap Rolls Out Microbiology Mentoring at Regional Laboratories in Ethiopia

Over the past year, the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) has taken major steps to improve accuracy, efficiency, and quality of clinical and public health microbiology laboratory services through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-Ethiopia partnership with the ASM Global Laboratory Capacity Strengthening (LabCap) Program. In 2011, LabCap trained 92 laboratory technologists on basic diagnostic microbiology procedures over a series of four workshops. They served as a starting point towards building microbiology capacity in Ethiopia; however workshops alone cannot fully develop the breadth of technical skills and complex decision making required to diagnose infectious diseases. They also do not ensure proper implementation of laboratory quality systems essentials, including development of quality control (QC) procedures, quality assurance programs, laboratory safety, competency testing, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to support high quality service delivery.

LabCap's approach to microbiology capacity building incorporates mentoring as the bridge between the classroom and independent practice. In September 2011, LabCap introduced a Regional Laboratory Microbiology Mentoring Program in Ethiopia with the aim of providing quality laboratory services in the diagnosis of common and HIV-related opportunistic infections and diseases of public health significance. It was also designed to directly support the Stepwise Process for Laboratory Improvement Towards Accreditation (SLIPTA), a new program for World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) member countries; Ethiopia began this process earlier this year. Its purpose is to support the laboratories in a stepwise quality improvement process towards obtaining nationally, regionally or internationally recognized accreditation standards. Lab- Cap's mentoring program is designed to help the Regional microbiology laboratories meet SLIPTA benchmarks.

Adama Regional Reference Laboratory and Bahir Dar Regional Health Research Laboratory were the first two sites selected for the mentorship program, both providing limited microbiology services in newly renovated facilities. A LabCap mentor was placed in each laboratory for three weeks and was tasked with offering on-site guidance and training to mentees, typically microbiology laboratory supervisors and technologists. An initial assessment of the laboratory facility by the mentor using a standardized microbiology-specific checklist was required to identify areas of nonconformity, prioritize areas for improvement, and prepare mentee workplans. With startup reagents, supplies, and a library of microbiology references provided by ASM, each mentor was able to focus on the greatest technical and quality-related needs of the laboratories.

The mentoring process ensued with the organization of the laboratory space; establishment of workflow; inventories of reagents, antibiotic disks, and supplies; and implementation of multiple safety practices. QC was performed for media, identification reagents, and antibiotics and reference stock cultures were prepared and stored. A comprehensive system for documentation- accessioning, resulting, and reporting-was developed and joint revision of SOPs was conducted. With these systems in place, mentors worked with individual mentees to build their core microbiology technical competencies.

Recently, testing services at the Adama Laboratory were limited primarily to stool culture for outbreak investigation. During this visit, the mentor successfully established the capacity of the laboratory to process specimens for routine bacteriology culture. Bahir Dar offered more routine services, allowing the mentor to focus on strengthening the mentees' existing microbiology skills which were then validated through formal competency assessment. A quality improvement work plan was prepared at each site with the mentees to ensure sustainability of the improvement processes initiated and to plan further activities for the following three months. LabCap will conduct follow up mentoring visits in the coming year and expects to expand the program to additional Regional Laboratories.


Development of this publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U2GPS001947-03 from the Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP), Global AIDS Program (GAP). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.

LabCap Team Visit and Launch of a Biosafety Workshop in Nigeria

With nearly 460,000 estimated new tuberculosis (TB) cases annually, Nigeria is considered the fourth among the world's 22 high-burden TB countries, countries which combined account for 80% of the global burden of TB. To strengthen the country's ability to diagnose TB, one of the primary objectives of the Nigerian Ministry of Health and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Program of Nigeria has been to implement TB liquid culture and drug susceptibility testing at the national TB reference laboratories, which include the National TB and Leprosy Training Centre (NTBLTC) laboratory in Zaria serving the North, the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) laboratory in Lagos serving the South, and a central laboratory in Calabar.

The ASM Global Laboratory Capacity Strengthening Program (LabCap), via its cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been providing onsite mentoring to the three facilities since 2009 to support this effort. LabCap has also used a quality management system (QMS) approach to move the laboratories towards meeting World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa (WHO/AFRO) stepwise accreditation goals and ultimately international accreditation.

Over the last two years, a major deficiency was seen in the area of biosafety. To address it, a biosafety workshop was conceived and conducted by LabCap from 8-29 September 2011 in Abuja for laboratory professionals working in the TB laboratories in Nigeria. Mah-Sere Keita Sow and Susana Oguntoye, both ASM LabCap Senior Program Specialists, and Corey White, ASM LabCap Program Coordinator, visited Nigeria to support the workshop, assess the progress of LabCap activities, and refine the current workplan. They visited the NTBLTC and NIMR to observe the results of LabCap's support and later discussed with key stakeholders a strategy for expanding the project beyond TB to capacity building for detection of other opportunistic infections.

The biosafety workshop was successfully completed with 27 participants from Government of Nigeria and its implementing partners. Content included an introduction to biosafety; biosafety levels; biological exposures; biological safety cabinets; emergency procedures; waste handling and disposal; laboratory biosecurity systems; personal protective equipment (PPE); aerosol producing procedures; disinfection; handwashing; attitude and record keeping; fit testing; and biosafety work practices for clinical and research TB laboratories. The training incorporated handwashing and PPE demonstrations and visit to a local laboratory for practical exercises and participant role plays. At the close of the workshop, participants indicated that they thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and that they will share this training with their peers in the various institutions. In addition to a copy of all the workshop materials, participants were given additional materials such as smoke pencils and fit testing kits to use in their facility.

Development of this publication was supported by Cooperative Agreement Number U2GPS001947-03 from the Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP), Global AIDS Program (GAP). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.