28-30 April 2025
Manhattan, Kansas, USA
The International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases is designed to showcase many aspects of the partner institutions’ findings, to serve as a forum for scientists far and wide to present their own findings, and to interact and network extensively with partners. In addition, keynote speakers, each a well-recognized leader in a specific aspect of transboundary or emerging diseases, will present on topics to help guide the overall discussions. Abstracts are welcome for both oral and poster presentations.
The Global Partnership for Animal and Zoonotic Disease Surveillance (GPAZDS) is a USDA/APHIS project funded through the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) that creates collaborations with partner laboratories in countries where high-consequence transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases are endemic or emerging. The main goal of GPAZDS is to foster and strengthen international partnerships and collaborations for surveillance and timely detection of transboundary animal and zoonotic disease threats. A total of nine institutions, in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, are participating in the Partnership, with each institution implementing projects designed to enhance diagnostics or surveillance of a particular pathogen and build or strengthen local capacity. The various projects are yielding valuable information about the risk of these pathogens, markedly enhancing partner capacity, and providing the National Veterinary Services Laboratories’ Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NVSL FADDL) with valuable specimens for diagnostic test development to enhance US preparedness.
Registration is now open for the International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases! Please use the below link to submit your registration for the meeting.
Registration includes lunch each day of the 3-day conference and one conference dinner.
There will be 13.5 hours of CE credit offered for this Symposium. More information to follow.
The GPAZDS project focuses on major high-consequence animal and zoonotic pathogens such as:
Registration will close on 4 April 2025.
The Planning Committee is accepting abstract submissions for presentation at the Symposium.
Please review the Abstract Guidelines before composing and submitting your abstract.
Abstract submission will close on 15 March 2025.
Welcome from APHIS-Veterinary Services Leadership
Welcome from the USDA NBAF Director
Explanation of GPAZDS Program and Introduction of Partners
Coffee Break
Panel: Opportunities and Challenges in Surveillance and Control of Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
GPAZDS Highlight: Marburg seroprevalence, Ghana by Theo Odoom, Diagnostic Laboratory, Ghana, followed by Q&A
Group Lunch
Keynote: Filovirus Investigations, NBAF by Lisa Hensley
GPAZDS Highlight: ASF Cycling in Uganda, surprise findings by Eddie Wampande, Makerere University, Uganda
Keynote: Current status of ASF control programs by Andres Perez
Coffee break
GPAZDS Highlight: CSF – no presence in West Africa; updates on distribution of CCHF, RVF by Lucy Ndip, University of Buea, Cameroon
GPAZDS Highlight: FMD – nasal swabs for detecting positivity in clinically normal animals by David Ehizibolo, NVRI, Nigeria
GPAZDS Highlight: Farmer attitudes to government reporting by Nabil Hailat, JUST, Jordan and Virginia Venturina, CLSU, Philippines
Daily Wrap-Up
Group Dinner with Keynote by Christian Happi, Director, African Centre for Genomics of Infectious Diseases
Opening Remarks and Recap of Day 1
Keynote: Current issues with severe weather, impact on agriculture by Brian Joseph, LifeStock International
Keynote: Tick-borne Diseases – The Wicked Problem by Kelly Brayton, WSU
Coffee Break
GPAZDS Highlight: CCHF, a human disease hiding in cattle and camels by David Ehizibolo, NVRI, Nigeria; Marie-Cecille, LNERV, Senegal; and Anise Happi, ACEGID, Nigeria
Panel: Policy Development – Working with government to formulate sustainable operations
Group Lunch
GPAZDS Highlight: PPR by Momodou Jeng, WALIC, The Gambia
Keynote: PPR Global Eradication Programme – WOAH/FAO by Felix Njeumi, Director, FAO
Keynote: The Quintessential One Health Pathogen: Rift Valley Fever Virus, Then and Now by Desiree LaBeaud, Stanford University
Coffee break
Selected short presentations
Daily Wrap-Up
Dinner on your own
Opening Remarks and Recap of Day 2
Keynote: Special pathogens – synergy between USDA and CDC; the role of US government in global animal health by Fernando Torres, Director, CDC
Selected short presentations
Coffee break
Panel Discussion: Benefits and obstacles to international collaboration on transboundary and emerging zoonotic diseases
Poster awards
Closing Remarks and Path Forward by Bonto Faburay, USDA APHIS
Lunch
Tour of NBAF - There are limited options for a tour of the NBAF on the afternoon of April 30. This will require prior approval by NBAF and that approval takes approximately 2 weeks. So if you are interested, please send a request to either bonto.faburay@usda.gov or corrie@lifestock.org to get your name on the list.
The symposium will be held at the Manhattan Conference Center, 410 South 3rd Street, Manhattan, KS 66502.
Are any meals provided during the Symposium?
Lunch will be provided each day of the Symposium. Dinner will be provided one evening of the Symposium.
Is there a virtual option to attend this meeting?
At this time, there are not plans to host a virtual option for the Symposium. We look forward to seeing you in person in Kansas.
What is the dress code for the Meeting?
Suggested dress code is business casual.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.
