Recent outbreaks of viruses such as Chikungunya, Zika, Yellow Fever, West Nile Fever, or Dengue, as well as the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, have found us unprepared and vulnerable.
The spread of these viral pathogens is determined by complex demographic, environmental and social factors, causing diseases to emerge in countries where they were previously unknown. Coupling diagnostics and epidemiology with digital platforms for processing data from various sources leads to the possibility of an open, global and digital pathogen surveillance system with predictive capabilities.
The TBFVnet project, focusing on surveillance and research on Tick-borne flaviviruses (TBFV) encompasses topics relating to public health and raising awareness. With a view to increasing knowledge, facilitating information, and influencing attitudes and behaviour, as well as to further disseminate and promote the objectives of our project, we are holding a public engagement event for the lay public.
Dr. Alessandro Marcello (ICGEB), project partner, will be participating with invited speaker, Dr. Marta Giovanetti, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome (UCBM), and O. Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the event entitled: Are we more exposed to new viral outbreaks? Addressing the risk with a one-health approach. The event, under the “Science & the City” umbrella of public scientific conferences, will be held at 3 pm on Sunday 24 September 2023, in the Centre of Trieste, during the Trieste Next Festival of Scientific Research. In its 12th edition, the festival attracts thousands of participants each year and constitutes a great opportunity to communicate the results and benefits of scientific research to the lay public.
Entrance is free and the event will also be streamed live. The event will be in Italian for the local populace, however, a podcast and short film will be produced afterwards with English subtitles and distributed on YouTube. Additional information about the event and the project will be available at the ICGEB stand in the main square of Trieste, Piazza Unita’ d’Italia throughout the festival, from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 September.
Dr. Fabio De Pascale, Science Communicator, University of Padua, Italy, Communications Consultant for the TBFVnet project for two years, will moderate the talks.
An ongoing theme for our scientists concern viruses invading new areas, representing risks and the need to be monitored. The focus of the TBFVnet project and its relevance to the monitoring of novel viral species will also be discussed.
