EPIZONE will organize after the 6th Annual Meeting EPIZONE in Brighton a
Satellite Symposium on the
topic
'Schmallenmberg virus'
15 th June 2012
Brighton.
We kindly invite you to participate in this symposium.
Schmallenberg virus (SBV) is a novel orthobunyavirus first identified in cattle in Germany in Autumn 2011. In dairy cows in Germany and The Netherlands signs of infection included fever, diarrhoea and a drastic reduction in milk production. Now it has also been detected in sheep and goats, and it has shown up at dozens of farms in The Netherlands, Germany and in Belgium. The new virus causes fetal malformations and stillbirths in cattle, sheep, and goats.
The virus is most likely transmitted by
midges(Culicoides spp.), and infections likely occurred in
summer and autumn of last year, but fetuses that were exposed to
the virus in the womb are only now being born. Many more cases are
expected to appear, especially in cattle, because bovine fetuses
infected in summer 2011 would be expected to be born in February
and March. A risk assessment for public health was issued by the
European Centre for Disease Prevention, saying it is unlikely that
this new orthobunyavirus can cause disease in humans. Veterinary
Institutes have been able to isolate the virus, several strains
have been sequenced and the first animal experiments have been
performed.
Still a lot of questions remain to be answered.
Which vector species is transmitting the disease? Can animals
infect each other directly? And of course, where did the virus come
from? What can be done to control the virus and can we develop a
vaccine? Scientists within Europe need to work together and
exchange knowledge to control this new epizootic in Europe.
An interesting programme will be scheduled. Keynote speakers will be invited for lectures on all aspects of the Schmallenberg virus, such as diagnostics, vaccine development, epidemiology, and risk assessment. Oral as well as poster presentations will be held, and there will be scheduled time for discussions and networking.
You are invited to send in your abstract.
To be sure to have the latest results presented on the
15th June, abstracts for the Schmallenberg virus
satellite symposium can be submitted on this website until 31th of
March 2012. Registration form and hotel reservation page can also
be found on this 6th Annual Meeting website.
We look forward to welcoming you in Brighton on this satellite symposium
Scientific en organising committee
Sponsors are most welcome! see here for sponsorship packages