Last month we wrapped up our 6th annual Arizona Infectious Disease Training and Exercise (AZID), a three-day event with more than 400 attendees learning about various infectious disease topics. This year’s event embraced the One Health theme, which recognizes the connection of human health with the health of animals and the environment.
The event kicked off with a tabletop exercise in which 200 public health partners explored ways to enact a coordinated response to a chikungunya outbreak. In line with One Health, dynamic local and national speakers presented not just on human outbreaks of tick-borne relapsing fever, Salmonella, and Ebola in West Africa, but also on highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry, West Nile virus in birds, and infectious disease risks of wildlife living among livestock and agricultural products.
The two training days were packed full of information and there was something for everyone, whether you are interested in the impact of electronic laboratory reporting on disease investigations or the state’s road map to tuberculosis elimination.
This event wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of the steering committee chair, Joli Weiss, and ADHS staff Kristen Herrick, Krista Anheluk, Christine Wampler, and other steering committee members. Our attendance grows annually as more public health partners throughout the state recognize the benefit of staying up to date on infectious disease trends and expanding their knowledge to better prepare for existing and emerging infectious diseases.
