Varicella (video game) despicable antagonists (just as variola is more virulent than varicella), thus making players willing to go along with his schemes. The international situation in the game is described in passing: Piedmont is part of a loose confederation of kingdoms that make up a Carolingian League and is engaged in a war against the Republic of Venice. It won four XYZZY Awards in 1999 including the XYZZY Award for Best Game, and was nominated for another four. The game was discussed academically by Nick Montfort and Stuart Moulthrop in their 2003 paper "Face It, Tiger, You Just Hit the Jackpot: Reading
International Society for Disease Surveillance biosurveillance. Every year, the ISDS conference draws over 350 professionals from a broad range of disciplines to learn the latest achievements, analytic methods, best practices, conceptual frameworks, and technical innovations in the rapidly evolving field of disease surveillance. The ISDS conferences provide fertile ground for cultivating new ideas and partnerships by bringing together local, state, and federal public health practitioners, academic researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and decision makers from governmental and nongovernmental entities. The 12th annual conference was held in December 2013, in New Orleans, LA. The theme for the 2013 conference—Translating Research and Surveillance into Action—highlighted one of the salient