SEAICRN Director's Welcome
Let me welcome you to the site for the South East Asia Infectious Disease Clinical Research Network (SEAICRN). The SEAICRN is a collaborative network of researchers, scientists, public health professionals and officials working across the South East Asia region. Together with our global partners, we aim to address the threats of infectious diseases in the South East Asia region.
The SEAICRN first started in 2005 in response to the growing concerns surrounding a potential pandemic from avian influenza. While forming the research collaboration over South East Asia, we also encounter many infectious diseases that are still of public health importance, and that pose a threat to global pandemic. You only have to look back to 2012 in Cambodia where they experienced an outbreak of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) caused by Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and to the increasing number of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronaviruses (MERS-CoV) associated with human disease to know that the fight against infectious diseases is far from over. Also, more recently we have started to see infections with previously vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and rubella. At the same time, we should not forget that infectious diseases from common organisms, such as Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, are still a leading cause of death in Southeast Asia.
The SEAICRN is currently established to conduct research on infectious diseases to generate evidence to help understand the causes and patterns of infectious diseases, how to respond rapidly to emerging infectious diseases that may turn into epidemics or pandemics, how to better diagnose and treat them, and how to help prevent them. We aim to generate the science and evidence to help drive change and improve outcomes for the people and communities that are affected. We work as a collaborative team across our partner countries. We aim to conduct the highest quality research in a timely and cost conscious way, and strive for improved public health.
As a Network and team of partners we strive to conduct research to help address the infectious disease threats to our region.
Direk Limmathurotsakul, M.D., DLSTMH., PhD.
Network Director, SEAICRN