More Than 3,000 Veterinarian Views of the Latest Insights Into Canine Vector Borne Diseases Management

MONHEIM, Germany, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Four WebConferences from 7^th International CVBD World Forum attract more than 3,000 viewers from around the world to hear case studies from leading international experts

Bayer Animal Health today announced that the recent educational WebConfererences following the Seventh Canine Vector-Borne Disease (CVBD) World Forum were watched by an unprecedented audience of veterinarians from more than 50 countries worldwide. As a result of the scale of interest in the WebConferences they will now be hosted at http://www.cvbd.org, to remain available for continuous education for veterinarians.

Professor Michael Day of the University of Bristol, UK, who chaired one of the sessions spoke of the success of the event, "I've been involved in a number of similar activities to this, but I've never before seen so much interest from across the globe; and the 500 questions that we received really highlighted to us all just how engaged and eager to learn the veterinary community are about CVBDs. This gives me real hope that the threat from CVBDs is being taken seriously and that our messages around the One Health initiative and the need for better protection, diagnosis and treatment for the sake of both animal and human health are being understood worldwide."

According to Lourdes Mottier of Bayer Animal Health, the success of these WebConferences is indicative of the increasing importance of CVBDs in veterinary practice, "We knew that we had an exciting range of speakers from the CVBD World Forum but even we were surprised to see so many attendees from so many countries. I think this truly demonstrates how great the need is for sharing more information about the management of these diseases."

The WebConferences cover two areas of particular interest due to recent advances in our understanding of CVBDs; the diagnosis and management of canine leishmaniosis and the diagnosis and management of flea- and tick-borne diseases in general. The sessions were chaired by Professor Gad Baneth, Hebrew University, Israel, and Professor Michael Day of the University of Bristol, UK, respectively.

The WebConference on leishmaniosis collected together renowned experts to discuss the many presentations of canine leishmaniosis. Prof. Gaetano Oliva (Università di Napoli, Federico II, Italy), Dr. Luís Cardoso (University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal), and Prof. Lluís Ferrer (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain) discussed cases with non-traditional presentation of leishmaniosis, with the dominant diagnostic features being the presence of nodules affecting the nostril, tongue and pinna respectively. Prof. Guadalupe Miró of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, took the audience through the case of a dog presenting with strongyloidosis exacerbated by co-infection with leishmaniosis. The session was concluded by Prof. Patrick Bourdeau (Unité de Dermatologie, Parasitologie, Mycologie, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire, Agroalimentaire et de l´Alimentation, Francia), with a discussion of the differing outcomes that can be experienced by dogs infected with leishmaniosis.

According to Professor Gaetano Oliva, the experience of taking part in the WebConferences was educational for everyone involved, "We don't have the opportunity to share our experience in this kind of environment often enough. These kinds of event are increasingly going to provide the veterinary community with the chance to disseminate information rapidly and efficiently so everyone, regardless of where they practice, will be able to stay abreast of the latest developments in the field. To my mind, that is a great thing, and I am very much looking forward to the opportunity to do something similar again soon. I hope our audience found it equally useful."

Norbert Mencke of Bayer Animal Health spoke of the event, "These WebConferences are just a part of Bayer Animal Health's on-going commitment to support veterinarians around the globe with continuous educational material. Here in particular to improve the understanding and management of CVBDs. We are very happy to have been able to share this event with the veterinary community around the world, and hope that many more will be able to benefit from viewing the sessions at our website http://www.cvbd.org."

About The CVBD World Forum

The CVBD World Forum is a working group of leading experts in natural sciences, veterinary and human medicine from Europe, North America, Latin America, Australia and Asia. It was founded during the 1st International CVBD Symposium in April 2006 in Billesley, UK, as a consequence of the increasing global threats through canine vector-borne diseases (CVBD). The main goal of the CVBD World Forum is to exchange knowledge and findings about ectoparasite-pathogen-host interaction as well as the characterisation and assessment of the distribution of pathogens and vectors in order to increase awareness for the specific regional risks of CVBD and to foster preventative measures. This work is supported by Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health Division.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 17.2 billion (2011), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55,700 employees (Dec 31, 2011) and is represented in more than 100 countries. Find more information at http://www.bayerhealthcare.com.

With a turnover of EUR 1.190 million (2011) Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division is one of the world's leading manufacturers of veterinary drugs. The division manufactures and markets more than 100 different veterinary drugs and care products for livestock and companion animals.

Find more information at http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.com.

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SOURCE Bayer Animal Health