77th Annual Conference of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India is Announced

News Desk, News Nation 360 : India is ranked 5th in the world for air pollution in 2023, and the surge in air pollution has been strongly associated with increased prevalence of allergies, especially allergic rhinitis, which causes inflammation and irritation of the nasal passages, increased susceptibility to allergens, and increased severity of sneezing, congestion, and itching in the nose and throat, and reportedly affects 20-30% of the people in the world, where 53% of patients with rhinitis in 19 states in India had allergic rhinitis. Amidst the growing importance of allergic rhinitis in the country, the topic of allergic rhinitis has been selected amongst the prominent themes of the 77th Annual Conference of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India (AOI), namely AOICON 2026, scheduled once again in Kolkata from 8th-11th of January 2026 at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre, where expected participants include 3,000-3,500 otorhinolaryngology experts from almost every corner of the country and from some foreign nations, and touted as the ‘largest otolaryngology knowledge platform in the country’. The scientific programme would also comprise a large facial plastic surgery workshop on Rhinoplasty, ear lobe reconstruction, and complex nasal surgeries performed by ENT surgeons, with the cooperation of the global and national faculty, with a special contribution from Dr. Ullash Raghavan, from the UK, who has been identified as a pioneer in these surgeries, apart from a numerous CME programme on varied ENT ailments. The speakers included those from the UK, USA, Japan, Brazil, the Gulf and other European nations. Dr. Dwaipayan Mukherjee, National President of the All India Ent Association (AOI), stated at the pre-conference Press Meet at Press Club Kolkata that in addition to pollution-based allergic rhinitis, other significant topics of this conference include the release of Indian guidelines for managing allergic rhinitis for protocol-based treatment of Indian patients, medico-legal guidelines for Ent practice, and recent advancements in the treatment and surgery of ear, nose, and throat diseases. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that noise pollution mostly affects the auditory system in urban areas. It is also recognised that persistent or chronic allergic rhinitis can lead to asthma. Otolaryngological illnesses have grown geometrically as a result of rising pollution.

Pic - Krishnendu Kundu