The morning theme of this conference is “Arthropod-borne wildlife diseases”.
The afternoon session will deal with various “Other wildlife health issues”, including avian influenza.

Arthropod-borne wildlife diseases:
This theme focuses on diseases in wildlife that are transmitted by arthropod vectors, such as ticks and mosquitoes. Some of these diseases may be of concern not only for wildlife populations, but also for domestic animals and human beings. Spread of these diseases is largely dependent on the epidemiology and the level of infection of their vectors. Expansion of vector populations, e.g. through climate changes, can lead to modification in the epidemiology of these diseases.
Well known examples of the arthropod-borne diseases are West Nile virus infection and Lyme’s disease.

In the morning session Dr. Bob McLean (National Wildlife Research Center, WS/APHIS/USDA, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA) will present: Emergence of West Nile virus in North America. Other presentations will focus on the spread and possible introduction of mosquito and tick species in Europe, especially in The Netherlands.

OTHER WILDLIFE HEALTH ISSUES:
After a good lunch, which gives you the opportunity for valuable networking, we will proceed with an open session on other aspects of health and welfare of free-living wild and feral animals. This session will start with a keynote lecture by Dr. Thijs Kuiken (Department of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, NL), on Avian influenza (H5N1) in Eurasia.

We welcome presentations on the morning theme “Arthropod-borne wildlife diseases” or on any other aspect of wildlife health. Abstracts should be submitted by 15th of March, 2006, to Dr Joke van der Giessen, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Microbiological Laboratory for Health Protection, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands, preferably as an attachment in Word by E-mail: Joke.van.der.giessen@rivm.nl (Phone: +3130-2743926, Fax: +3130-2744434).

Abstracts should include title, name and affiliation of the author(s), an informative summary of 200 words, and preference for oral presentation or poster. The three best student presentations will be awarded with a prize. Students have free admission to the conference. Please indicate in your submission whether you wish to be judged for this award, and provide evidence of your student status.

For registration for the conference please contact the secretariat of the Microbiological Laboratory for Health Protection, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA Bilthoven, The Netherlands

by e-mail: noel.peters@rivm.nl (Subject: Conference DSWH).