Seasonal Conjunctivitis Outbreak Reporting for Prevention and Improved Outcomes
About the Study
Infectious conjunctivitis (pink eye) epidemics are a global burden. These epidemics occur across the United States and affiliated territories, leading to missed school days, missed workdays, and lost wages. Despite the relatively large socioeconomic impact, there exists a limited understanding of these epidemics in the US because outbreaks are sporadic in place and time. Samples are rarely collected for testing. Internationally, epidemics are often larger and more predictable. In many regions, epidemics routinely occur in the same patient population and the same season each year. Therefore, it is important to look beyond the US to global sites to understand the spatial and temporal patterns of the infectious agents involved. In an ever interconnected world, emerging pathogens arising from natural disasters, animal to human transmissions, or co-infections create concern everywhere.
SCORPIO is an international, multi-site study that takes advantage of advances in genomic technologies to enhance our understanding of conjunctivitis epidemics globally by identifying the pathogens involved, characterizing the evolution of pathogen genomes across time and space, and defining the immune responses to these infections. We hope to improve prevention methods and help to curtail spread, thus reducing the burden on cost and human ocular morbidity.
Study Sites
| Institution | Site Collaborators | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aravind Eye Hospital | Lalitha Prajna, MD, PhD; N. Venkatesh Prajna, MD | Madurai | India |
| B.P. Koirala Lions Center for Ophthalmic Studies/Tribhuvan University | Meenu Chaudhary, MD | Kathmandu | Nepal |
| Centre de Recherche en Santé de Nouna | Ali Sie, MD, PhD; Boubacar Coulibaly, MD, PhD | Nouna | Burkina Faso |
| Chulalongkorn University | Vannarut Satipitakul, MD; Thanapong Somkijrungroj, MD | Bangkok | Thailand |
| Eye Program, Ministry of Health | Johnson Kasso, MD; Kalbule Willie, MD; Fasihah Taleo | Luganville | Vanuatu |
| Hai Yen Vision Institute | Huy Tran, MD; Yen Tran, MD | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam |
| Instituto Mexicano de Oftalmología | Van Charles Lansing, MD, PhD; Jaime Macías Martínez, MD; José Fernando Pérez Pérez, MD | Querétaro City | Mexico |
| Khon Kaen University | Wipada Laovirojjanakul, MD | Khon Kaen | Thailand |
| Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) | Travis Redd, MD, MPH; Winston Chamberlain, MD | Portland, OR | United States |
| Pacific Vision Institute of Hawaii | Vivien Tham, MD | Honolulu, HI | United States |
| Pallas Kliniken | Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Christoph Tappeiner FEBO, Prof. Dr. med David Goldblum | Olten | Switzerland |
| Phramongkutklao Hospital | Wiwan Sansanayudh, MD | Bangkok | Thailand |
| Programme National de Santé Oculaire | Abdou Amza, MD, PhD | Niamey | Niger |
| Rabin Medical Center | Ruti Sella, MD; Lee Terner, MD | Petah Tikva | Israel |
| School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley (UCB) | Kuniyoshi Kanai, OD; Meredith Whiteside, OD | Berkeley, CA | United States |
| Sinai Hospital of Baltimore | Laura Green, MD | Baltimore, MD | United States |
| Singapore National Eye Center | Jod Mehta, MD, PhD; Yu Chi Liu, MD | Singapore | Singapore |
| Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile | Cristhian A. Urzúa, MD | Santiago | Chile |
| Taipei Veterans General Hospital | Nai-Wen Fan, MD; De-Kuang Hwang, MD | Taipei | Taiwan-Republic of China |
| The Save Sight Institute, Sydney Eye Hospital | Stephanie Watson, MD, PhD; ; Maria Cabrera Aguas, MD | Sydney | Australia |
| University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) | Edmund Tsui, MD | Los Angeles, CA | United States |
| University of California, San Diego (UCSD) | Esmeralda McClean, OD | La Jolla, CA | United States |
| University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)/Francis I Proctor Foundation | See Study Team | San Francisco, CA | United States |
| University of Nebraska Medical Center/Truhlsen Eye Institute | Steven Yeh, MD | Omaha, NE | United States |
| University of Papua New Guinea | Jambi Garap, MD | National Capital District | Papua New Guinea |
Study Team
- Thuy Doan, MD, PhD (PI)
- Thomas Lietman, MD
- Gerami Seitzman, MD
- Michael Diener, PhD
- Travis Porco, PhD, MPH
- James Chodosh, MD, MPH
- Armin Hinterwirth, PhD
- Elodie Lebas, RN
- Emily Colby, BA
- Kevin Ruder, BS
- Cindi Chen, MS
- Lina Zhong, BA
Contact
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