Memorable photographs heighten the visual impact of the information that public health professionals strive to communicate. With just one click, the photographer captures a fleeting emotion or unique moment, with the power to convey a distinct and compelling image.
Photographs serve as valuable evidence of FETP activities and can help increase their visibility and expand public knowledge of the work of epidemiologists. To this end, TEPHINET runs photo contests during its scientific conferences to showcase FETP activities. Below are the winners of the photo contest for the 10th TEPHINET Global Scientific Conference, which was held from October 28 through November 1, 2019, talking about their images in their own words.
Note: The next TEPHINET photo contest is being organized in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction with the 2020 FETP International Nights, which will take place on May 5 and 6 during the 69th annual EIS Conference in Atlanta. FETP trainees and graduates who submitted abstracts to this event are eligible to enter the photo contest. To learn more, please contact Tina Rezvani at trezvani@tephinet.org.
Nungky Sabila Adzhani: First Place Winner
What is happening in this photo?
Interviewing of a suspected food poisoning case from a gotong royong event (see below). The wife of one of the participants involved in the event was interviewed. Their family had received wrapped food, but the family members were not the only ones who had symptoms of illness.
What is gotong royong?
The act is known as the culture of gotong royong or known as "communal work" in English. Gotong royong is a form of action usually done by several groups of people to achieve a shared objective. In the context of Indonesia, the culture of gotong royong usually comes as a communal value and has become a culture of people. Gotong royong is a part of the national identity of Indonesian culture since the practice is done in almost all areas in Indonesia. Each area also has its own names for gotong royong since the act is seen as a shared value and norm; the act is in their blood.
What your purpose for being there?
To gather information about the distribution of the wrapped food packages from the gotong royong event, to find out what menus are distributed to their families and how many family members consumed the packages, whether they had symptoms or not, and to understand the behavior of consuming food.
How long did the investigation take?
The investigation was conducted over a week starting on August 28, 2019. The gotong royong was held on August 24 and 25, 2019.
Were you able to conclude the source of food poisoning?
The alleged source of food poisoning was caused by the contamination of Salmonella sp. and Bacillus cereus with the following risk factors: the unavailability of hygienic hand washing; the presence of one family member in a food handler's house suffering from diarrhea and has a habit of misplaced defecating; the presence of many flies in the kitchen, and the presence of defecation facilities that use pit latrines.
Do you think food contamination and poisoning is an issue in Gunung Kidul due to the poor sanitation?
Hot weather conditions cause the area to dry up, so that water usage is very minimal and some people have to buy tengki water; some people still have the habit of defecating in their yard. The use of pit latrines is the main solution for people with low water conditions, even though we know that pit latrines can cause disease because they can be accessed by flies to spread disease.
Muhammad Bashir: Second Place Winner
Can you explain what you are doing in the photo?
I am crossing the Indus River by a locally made pulley to reach an area in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan with about 20 households to check the vaccination status and routine vaccination coverage of children.
What diseases and illnesses are you trying to protect against?
I am trying to protect the children from infectious diseases like tuberculosis, hepatitis, measles, polio, diptheria, tetanus, pertussis, meningitis, pneumonia, diarrhea, etc.
About how often do you perform routine vaccination checks in this area?
I visit different areas of Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan on monthly basis.
Liu Boxi: Third Place Winner
Can you explain what you are doing in the photo?
We were observing the results of a Bacillus anthracis culture during an investigation of an outbreak of human cutaneous anthrax in China. A microscopic examination of Bacillus anthracis was in progress.
What was the reason you were there?
We were doing laboratory tests and identifying if these samples meet the criteria for the definition of a confirmed case.
What is human cutaneous anthrax?
That is people who are infected with Bacillus anthracis through their broken skin, resulting in itchy bumps rapidly developing into a black sore.
How long did this investigation take?
We conducted this investigation from August 12 to August 29, 2018.
Were you able to determine the source behind the outbreak?
No. If we want to determine the source, we would have had to determine where the infected cows were coming from, but the agriculture department didn't cooperate with our investigation.