Workshop: Controlling the spread of Brucella canis in Europe

B.canis is a rising concern for human and animal health in Europe, with recent and ongoing cases in several countries. Under the One-Health European Joint Program (EJP) project COHESIVE, we have identified B.canis as a disease of interest both by its relationship with One-Health (requiring cooperation between veterinary and medical practitioners) and with international trade (where cases are often traced to the import of dogs from elsewhere).

In collaboration with the EJP project IDEMBRU, we aim to engage partners in different sectors across Europe in a practical discussion on the current situation in different countries, and capture shared potential strategies to combat the spread of the disease and help prevent B.canis from becoming endemic across Europe.

The workshop structure will consist of a mix of presentations and open discussions and will discuss the six core topics.

• Country situations
• Testing
• Spread
• Regulation
• Awareness
• Responsibility and Strategy

More detailed descriptions of these topics will be circulated with a full agenda when we know the level of attendance.

If you would like to attend, please let us know by the 30^th of April whether you would like to give a short introduction to the situation in your country or present on one of the topics. Otherwise, we will assume that you would just like to contribute to the discussions and/or learn from others. Currently, we aim to have around two or three very short presentation for each topic. In the event that we have more participants than can feasibly present/participate, we would nonetheless like to keep it open to all, with a mix of active and passive participants. Passive participants will still be able to pose questions, but will not present.  

Contact Elina Lahti at SVA (elina.lahti@sva.se) to register and receive a link to the workshop.

I look forward to hearing from you, and to working together to tackle this important threat. Please let us know if you have any questions or queries.

Best regards,

The organising committee,

Rob Dewar (APHA), Elina Lahti (SVA), Claire Ponsart (ANSES), John McGiven (APHA), Kitty Maassen (RIVM), Emily Dobell (PHE), Falk Melzer (FLI), Nicholas Beeching (NHS), Fabrizio De Massis (IZSAM), Andrew Frost (APHA), Charlotte Cook (APHA), Alessandro Gerada (NHS)