Prevention sector
A number of educational media, posters, notices, albums, pamphlets and sets of slides have been conceived, produced and distributed in various languages (English, French, Spanish, Turkish, Greek, Slav and Italian) aimed at increasing public awareness in order to prevent fire accidents. This material is intended for schools, hotels, hospitals, public places, etc. Videotapes have also been produced with commentaries in various languages. These can be used also by the mass media for didactic purposes. The videotapes very effectively reconstruct dangerous situations which may occur in the home, at work, and during children's play activities. A Commission for the "Prevention and Health Education" coordinates the various aspects of prevention in relation to the different realities prevailing in the individual Member countries.
The following videotapes are available:
- The Prevention of Burns in children
- The Prevention of electrical burns in everyday life
- The Prevention of electrical burns at work
- The Prevention of industrial disasters
- How to defend ourselves from fire
- How to defend ourselves from forest fires
The tapes have been dubbed in English, French, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish and come in two versions, U-MATIC and VHS. All the tapes are available entirely free of charge to MBC Members who apply in writing to receive them explaining their reason and undertaking to use them exclusively to promote a burn prevention campaign in their respectives countries. For non-members of MBC the tapes are available at a cost of US$ 25 each, including postal charges.
Please address requests to:
Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters
Divisione di Chirurgia Plastica e Terapia delle Ustioni
Ospedale Civico
Via C. Lazzaro, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
Tel: 39-091-666 36 31
Fax. 39-091-59 64 04
In 1998 the Province of Palermo has invited the MBC to organize, in 10 schools in the Province of Palermo, a course on the Prevention of Burns and on Civil Defence Training.
Emergency sector
Initial therapy in the event of burn injury
Medical files in English for the use of general practitioners and remote hospitals have been published and produced with the purpose of guaranteeing a better initial therapy for the burn patient. These files will make it possible for the patient to reach specialized Burns Centres accompanied by more standardized data regarding the causation of the burn, the clinical course and the therapeutic treatment in the early phase of the burn illness. A common clinical-therapeutic file is being prepared for use in all Burns Centres in the various countries, with a view to facilitating the exchange of concepts, study, research and international cooperation in the field of teaching and medical and nursing assistance. (Ref. The Management of Mass Burn casualties and Fire Disasters - by M. Masellis, S.W.A. Gunn - Kluwer Academic Publishers - Dordrecht, 1992)
Official Inauguration of the Skin Bank it 07 April 1998 scheduled to become the MED-SKIN-BANK by decree of the Italian Health Ministry
Organization of rescue work in the event of a disaster
The study of plans of immediate Rescue Work, in conjunction with the national Civil Defence organizations, will contribute to making cooperation more effective and more rational. In 1990 the MBC organized the "First International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters" in Palermo - Italy, in accordance with the above programme. In 1992 the MBC organized the "Second International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters: Perspective 2000" in Palermo - Italy. In 1995 the MBC with the partecipation of the American Burn Association and the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine organized the "Third International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters" in Palermo - Italy.
In 1998 the MBC organized the "4th International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters" in Athens - Greece in collaboration with the World Health Organisation. The main topic was "Mass, fire casualties in public areas".
In 2000 the 5th International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters was held in Lisbon, Portugal. It's in the arrangement 6th Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters on October 2001 in Tripoli, Libya.
Promotion of interchange between member countries sector
Every year the MBC offers 10 scholarships (worth 4 million lire each) equally to physicians and nurses to enable them to attend Burns Centres and Plastic Surgery Departments in the various countries in the Mediterranean area for the period of one month. The purpose of the scholarships is to allow those already working in this field to perfect their knowledge and update their professional training, and to offer young researchers the opportunity of entering into this field of specialization. A commission on "Problems of nursing activities and technical assistance" analyses, studies and coordinates standards of medical and nursing care in the various countries, with the aim of achiving a more uniform level.
Cultural promotion, study and research sector
Every year meetings, conferences and refreshers courses are held in rotation in Member Countries with the purpose of promoting the integration of the various types of scientific culture in the field of burns and fire disasters. This favours and stimulates research programmes and the continuous comparison between the various scientific and medical realities.
Meetings organized and sponsorized by MBC:
| 1987 |
| 18-20 Jun |
1st Meeting of the Mediterranean Burns Club (Palermo, Italy) |
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| 1988 |
| 1-3 Mar |
Journées Maroc-Italie sur les Brûlures (Rabat, Marocco) |
| 15-18 Sep |
2nd Meeting of the Mediterranean Burns Club (Palermo, Italy) |
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| 1989 |
| 5-9 Jun |
First International Training Course on Management of Burns (Palermo, Italy) |
| 7-10 Nov |
3th Meeting of the Mediterranean Burns Club (Cairo, Egypt) |
| 14-21 Nov |
Mass Burns caused by superfires, nuclear and chemical accidents
Second International Training Course
Organized by: International Civil Defence Organization and Civil Defence Academy (Lahore, Pakistan) |
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| 1990 |
| 26-31 Mar |
Seminar on epidemiology and treatment of burns
Under the patronage of the University of Aleppo, Faculty of Medicine (Aleppo, Syria) |
| 25-28 Sep |
First International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters
In collaboration with Plastic Surgery and Burns Therapy Department - Civic Hospital (Palermo, Italy) |
| 26-28 Nov |
4eme Congrès du Mediterranean Burns Club (Rabat, Maroc) |
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| 1991 |
| 26-30 Nov |
5th Meeting of the Mediterranean Burns Club (Athens, Greece) |
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| 1992 |
| 12-14 Feb |
Refresher course on burns (Cairo Egypt) |
| 27-28 Apr |
International Course on Burns and Fire Disasters at Tabuk
In collaboration with the World Association for Emergency and Disaster Medicine (WAEDM) (Tabuk, Saudi Arabia) |
| 23-26 Aug |
Pan-European Conference on Emergency Medical Systems
In collaborating with PECEMS (Budapest, Hungary) |
| 30 Sep-3 Oct |
2nd International Conference on Burns and Fire Disaster: Perspectives 2000 - 6th Meeting of Mediterranean Burns Club (Palermo, Italy) |
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| 1993 |
| 27-30 Oct |
2nd International Urban Emergency Medicine Simposium
Organized by Chinese Association of Emergency Medicine and Japanese Association of Acute Medicine |
| 1-4 Dec |
7eme Conférence du Mediterranean Burns Club (Perpignan, France) |
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| 1994 |
| 26-29 Oct |
8th Meeting Mediterranean Burns Club - 1st Meeting Spanish Burn Association (La Coruña, Spain) |
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| 1995 |
| 5-8 Jun |
3rd International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters - Perspectives in cooperation between industrialized and less industrialized regions
In collaboration with American Burn Association, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, International trauma Anesthesia and Critical Care (Palermo, Italy) |
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| 1996 |
| 28 May-1 Jun |
9th IMeeting of the Mediterranean Club For Burns and Fire Disasters
In collaboration with Société Tunisienne de Chirurgie Plastique Reconstructive Maxillo-Faciale et Estetique (Tunis, Tunisie) |
| 6 June |
Civil Defence Fire Drill -"Focus 96"
In collaboration with Italian Civil Defence, Plastic Surgery and Burn Therapy Department of Civic Hospital, Presidency Sicilian Region, Prefecture of Palermo, Municipality of Palermo. (Palermo, Italy) |
| 7-10 Oct |
International Instructional Course on Burns
In collaboration with Assiut University (Assiut, Egypt) |
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| 1997 |
| 14-15 Sep |
International Course on "Burns and Fire Disasters"
In collaboration with Syrian Society of Aesthetic Reconstructive Surgery and Burn Association (Aleppo, Syria) |
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| 1998 |
| March-April |
Course on "Burn Prevention " at 10 schools of province of Palermo City (Palermo-Italy) |
| 22-23 May |
International Training Course on Burns and Fire Disasters
Organized by Clinic for Plastic Surgery, Microsurgery and Burns of Makarios Hospital, in collaboration with WHO (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
| 29-31 Oct |
4th International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters 10th Meeting of Mediterranean Club for Burns and Fire Disasters (Athens, Greece) |
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| 1999 |
| 11-15 Oct |
Burn Prevention week
Cyprus Burn Association (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
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| 2000 |
| 18 -21 Oct |
11thMeeting of Mediterranean Council of Burns and Fire Disasters - 5th International Conference on Burns and Fire Disasters in coll. With Sociedade Portuguesa de Queimaduras. (Lisbon, Portugal) |
| 17 -18 Nov |
Health and Humanitarian Action - Inaugural Symposium - Organized by International Association for Humanitarian Medicine, Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Palermo, Italy) |
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| 2001 |
| 6-7 Sep |
2nd MGlobal Meeting of WHO - EHA (Palermo, Italy) |
| 6-12 Nov |
Mission to Lagos (Nigeria) at the request of WHO (Lagos, Nigeria) |
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| 2002 |
| 18-20 Oct |
12th Meeting of Mediterranean Council of Burns and Fire Disasters - 6th International Conference on Burns and fire Disasters in collaboration with 3rd Conference of the Pan African Association of Plastic Surgery and 5th Meeting of the Lybian Society of Plastic Surgery (Tripoli, Lybia) |
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| 2004 |
| 20-23 Oct |
13th Meeting of the Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Nicosia, Cyprus) |
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| 2005 |
| 25-27 Nov |
Basil Fuleiman Seminar for Burns - " State of the art in burn treatment" (Beirut, Lebanon) |
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| 2006 |
| 30 Mar |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Amman, Jordan) |
| 18 - 20 May |
14th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Casablanca, Morocco) |
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| 2007 |
| 19-22 Feb |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Tunis, Tunisia) |
| 24-25 Nov |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Ahmedabad, India) |
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| 2008 |
| 18-19 Apr |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Bucharest, Romania) |
| 15-17 May |
15th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Athens, Greece) |
| 18 Oct |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Beirut, Lebanon) |
| 24-25 Oct |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Malta) |
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| 2009 |
| 27-28 Feb |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Ankara, Turkey) |
| 30-31 Oct |
MBC Instructional Course on burns and fire disasters (Belgrade, Serbia) |
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| 2010 |
| 31 Mar,1-3 Apr |
16th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Istanbul, Turkey) |
| 29-31 Oct |
MBC Instructional Course on Burns and Fire Disasters (Oran, Algeria) |
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| 2012 |
| 6-8 Jun |
17th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Palermo, Italy) |
| 28-30 Jun |
MBC Instructional Course on Burns and Fire Disasters (Ljublijana, Slovenia) |
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| 2013 |
| 1-2 Nov |
MBC Instructional Course (Tirana - Albania) |
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| 2014 |
| May 9-10 |
MBC Instructional Course (Bucharest, Romania) |
| Nov 16-20 |
18th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Torino, Italy) |
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| 2015 |
| March 12-14 |
The "From Alpha to ?mega" in Acute Burn Treatment Course in Athens: creation of a standardized burn course for Greece that meets local & European needs (Athens, Greece) |
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| 2016 |
| April 26-28 |
19th Meeting of Mediterranean Council for Burns and Fire Disasters (Beirut, Lebanon) |
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Promotion of the spirit of cooperation between countries sector
The MBC is considered inter alias as "league" a "pact" or "alliance" ready to offer experience, co-operation and medical hospital assistance in emergency situations and fire disasters,occurring in any area of the Mediterranean.
The MBC, in the person of its President, Secretary General or a Delegate, is present at cultural and scientific events taking place in the Member countries. The Council is a means for enlarging the individual facilities and for developing a more incisive programme of cooperation. The creation within the MBC of a Commission on the "Promotion of structures for the treatment of burns" has provided an international operative instrument for contacting goverments, universities, hospitals and communities in the individual countries.
Sector of dissemination of MBC activities
The MBC produces a quarterly scientific journal, "Annals of Burns and Fire Disasters", which is its official organ. It publishes the scientific works of Members and non-Members, the Acts of the Meetings, the results of research and studies promoted by the Council, reports on seminars, and all other information useful to the Council's activity. The journal is entirely published in web-site: http://www.medbc.com/annals.
Centre for the coordination of MBC activities
Apparatus and equipment for the collection and storing of clinical, bibliographical and didactic data and videomaterial have been purchased and installed at the official seat of the Council, the Division of Plastic Surgery and Burns Therapy at Palermo Civic Hospital. An electronic Editing Centre, a graphic computer Centre and an animation computer centre have been realized.
This has allowed:
- the creation of an international bibliographical data bank on burns, reconstructive surgery and fire disasters;
- the creation of a clinical, therapeutic and nursing data bank derived from the various Centres in the countries of the Mediterranean;
- the collection and management of all graphic material to be used in teaching, research and scientific publishing activities;
- the production and storing of videomaterial to be used in teaching, scientific and publishing activities;
- the creation of a centre for the distribution via cable system of all collected data;
- a centre for the management of the various administrative activities of the Council;
- insertion of the Council in, the Internet circuit since 1 December 1996.