Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the 2022 Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) International Nights. Last year, we celebrated the 20th anniversary, and now, as we move into the third decade of FETP International Nights, we are looking forward to many more years of outstanding presentations.

FETP International Nights has traditionally been held alongside the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service conference. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we are holding International Nights as a standalone, virtual event.

International Nights provides a time to showcase the successes of the FETP over the past year, and there are many. Each year, the quality and the number of abstracts submitted increases. This year is no exception. We received 162 abstracts from 51 countries. The selected 31 abstracts (25 poster presentations and 6 oral presentations) reflect the tremendous range of more than 80 FETPs’ work in infectious and non-infectious diseases around the world.

The accepted abstracts feature investigations and research from 19 countries and address a range of public health issues, including infectious diseases such as cholera, COVID-19, HIV, and leishmaniasis. Noninfectious topics include antibiotic use, tobacco use, and malnutrition.

Throughout the next decade, FETPs will continue to adapt to the changing public health landscape and address public health threats promptly and effectively to protect and improve everyone’s life. We look forward to hearing about the results of their interventions during International Nights for years to come.

I hope that this year’s conference helps you better appreciate the tremendous work conducted by FETPs in the global arena.

Kip Baggett, MD, MPH CAPT, US Public Health Service Chief, Workforce and Institute Development Branch Division of Global Health Protection Center for Global Health U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention