By Jordana Rich
The College of Veterinary Medicine will host an international conference on emerging diseases Aug. 13-14 at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The “Conference on Emerging Diseases: Veterinary Medicine, Agriculture and Human Health” will be the first to focus on emerging zoonotic diseases and the veterinary facilities required for their study.
One such facility, the university’s new Animal Health Research Center, will be formally dedicated Aug. 12, the day before the opening of the conference. The AHRC is the first non-federal Biosafety Level 3 laboratory in the Southeast and will be devoted to improving animal health and well-being. The $19 million, 75,000-square-foot building includes 12 laboratories designed for research studies in animal diseases, environmental health and food safety.
More than 150 scientists from around the world will attend the conference, including researchers from as far away as Geelong (Australia) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and from as nearby as the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. Scheduled speakers include Michael Kiley, safety officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.; Scott Rusk, chair of the International Veterinary Biosafety Committee of the U.S.D.A.; Charles Beard of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association; Jack Rhyan, wildlife coordinator at the U.S.D.A., from Fort Collins, Colo.; and other researchers from education, government and industry.
“Response to the call for abstracts has been tremendous from world-class scientists studying diverse diseases,” says Chris King, a veterinarian and member of the conference’s organizing committee.
“Speakers are coming to discuss brucellosis, prion disease and E.coli, and other topics that are critical to animal and human health throughout the world.”
|
|
