Doctor Guadalupe Miró, LeishVet Founding Member and President of ALIVE 2022, answers some relevant questions about the conference.
Let us start from the beginning, when and where will the LeishVet Congress ALIVE 2022 (Animal Leishmaniosis International Veterinary Event) take place?
ALIVE will be held in Málaga from the 31st of March to the 2nd of April, 2022. The format will be a hybrid congress allowing both presential and online attendance, according to each participant’s personal situation and the Covid regulations at the time in each country.
Why was it necessary to organise a specific congress on leishmaniosis?
The LeishVet group (a non-profit scientific association founded in 2008 by veterinarians from academic institutions of different countries focusing their research and clinical activity on leishmaniosis in veterinary medicine) identified the need for this congress some time ago in the world congress on human leishmaniosis. We have actively participated in this congress, which takes place every 4 years, organising a specific symposium about canine and feline leishmaniosis. Furthermore, we have realised that we needed to expand this activity and its content and plan our own congress. It’s been a tough journey at times… but we are about to make it happen!!
ALIVE is meant to be an encounter to share the latest progress in investigation amongst all professionals working in One Health, but what new content will the participants have access to?
The congress format incorporates 2 streams, independent but complementary. The first stream will present advances in research on the infection by Leishmania spp in animals, reservoirs and vectors and their impact on public health. The second stream will develop the improvements in the clinical management of leishmaniosis in pets. The participants will be able to choose, according to their interest, to attend the different programs or combine both.
The renowned professor Jeffrey Shaw will be in charge of the opening session - who are the other key speakers in the congress?
We are honoured to have recognised specialists both Spanish and international: Prof. José Cerón (Universidad de Murcia, Spain), Prof. Laura Ordeix (Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain), Prof. Katrin Hartmann (Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Germany) and Prof. Orin Courtenay (University of Warwick, UK) amongst others.
I would also like to remind everyone that the final date to send their abstracts for the congress is the 17th of October and that we have the opportunity of signing up with Early Bird Fees, accessible to all. We are also offering the option of registering for just one of the days, to accommodate the needs of clinical veterinarians that cannot attend the whole event.
We look forward to seeing you in Málaga!