Events
2023 GFRA Scientific Meeting: Focus on Africa
Dr Serena Shunmugam Junior Marketing Manager Veterinary Public Health Center Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
The 8 th -10 th November 2023 marked the Global FMD Research Alliance (GFRA) scientific meeting, which was held in Kampala, Uganda, an endemic country where FMD is an ongoing challenge. The GFRA has been a flagship association in the community in demonstrating how collaborations can lead to a better understanding of the FMD virus structure, infection and of the host’s immune response. Sessions for the event included presentations on FMD epidemiology, diagnostics,
virology, immunology, vaccinology, pathogenesis and specifically FMD research in Africa, the host continent. This knowledge is pertinent in designing improved control tools and measures. Boehringer Ingelheim’s Head of Technical Services at VPH, Dr Pascal Hudelet, attended the meeting and gained crucial insights:
Dr Pascal HUDELET Head of Technical Services, Veterinary Public Health Center Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health
Could you explain the meeting’s purpose and who attended? The conference is a crucial platform for delving into FMD research in the region. It is hosted biennially by GFRA, a global alliance of scientists providing evidence and innovation that enables the progressive control and eradication of FMD. This year there were 102 delegates from 27 countries, including 14 African countries. The delegates were a diverse group of individuals: mainly expert FMD scientists, but also members of international organizations. Representatives from Boehringer Ingelheim’s VPH Middle East and Africa region team; Dr Nicolas Denormandie and Dr Mohamed Al Nahrawy also attended this meeting.
discussions after each session. Workshops focused on the creation of an African chapter, Gap Analysis Report (assessment of current scientific knowledge and the available counter measures to mitigate the impact of an FMD outbreak in an endemic country, also supporting global control and eradication initiatives in FMD-endemic countries) and new nanopore-based methods for sequencing FMDV isolates. Keynote speakers included Dr Donald King (Head of WRLFMD), Nina Henning (GalvMed, Team Lead AgResults FMD Challenge Project), Dr Carolina Stenfeldt (Research manager USDA-ARS Plum Island Animal Disease Center) and Dr Jonathan Artz (Research Leader, Agricultural Research Service- USDA).
There were more than seventy oral/poster presentations. The attendees also participated in
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