The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) organized the APEC Conference for the Surveillance, Treatment, Laboratory Diagnosis and Vaccine Development of Enterovirus in Taipei International Convention Center on August 13 and 14, 2009. The conference gathered 30 delegates from 15 APEC member economies, including Australia, Chile, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam, and 83 domestic experts. The topics discussed at the conference include Epidemiology and Public Health, Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment, and Vaccine Development and Laboratory Technology. It was the second time for Taiwan CDC to host an APEC Conference on Enterovirus since the first hosting in 2000. It is also our second APEC Fund support project since 2008. Clearly, Taiwan’s ability in the prevention and control of Enterovirus is recognized by APEC member economies.

In Taiwan, a large epidemic of EV71 infection occurred in 1998, which resulted in 405 cases hospitalized with severe complications and 78 deaths. Last year (2008), 363 severe cases were confirmed and 14 deaths were resulted. In many other APEC member economies, similarly serious outbreaks have also occurred, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. Therefore, Taiwan presented a project entitled “APEC Conference for the Surveillance, Treatment, Laboratory Diagnosis and Vaccine Development of Enteroviruses” that was supported by APEC Health Working Group. In addition, domestic experts and scholars, including the commissioners of the Advisory Committee for Enterovirus, the commanders of the Communicable Disease Control Medical Network, the supervisors of the laboratories for Enterovirus, and the experts from the bio-technology industry were also invited.

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. The United States, China, Singapore and Taiwan have been devoted to the research and development of EV71 vaccine. However, there is still no vaccine available yet. Taiwan CDC invited international and domestic experts to present the current study on vaccine research and development. Through sharing information and exchanging experience with APEC member economies, a breakthrough in the development of vaccine is anticipated.

Additionally, Taiwan CDC hopes to create more opportunities for further cooperation among all APEC member economies, especially with the developing ones, in order to build enterovirus control capacities and consolidate Taiwan’s participation in APEC health affairs.