International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases

LifeStock International and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invite you to the International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases, April 28-30, 2025 in Manhattan, Kansas, United States!

The Symposium is designed to showcase many aspects of the Global Partnership for Animal and Zoonotic Disease Surveillance (GPAZDS) institutions’ findings, to serve as a forum for scientists far and wide to present their own findings, and to interact and network extensively with partners. In addition, keynote speakers, each a well-recognized leader in a specific aspect of transboundary or emerging diseases, will present on topics to help guide the overall discussions.

The GPAZDS project focuses on major high-consequence animal and zoonotic pathogens such as:

• African swine fever virus
• Foot-and-Mouth Disease virus
• Classical swine fever virus
• PPR
• Lumpy skin disease virus
• Rift Valley fever virus
• Filoviruses (Ebolavirus, Marburg virus)
• Crimean Congo hemorrhagic disease virus
• Henipaviruses (Nipah and Hendra

Highlighted event presentations include:

• Opportunities and Challenges in Surveillance and Control of Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
• CCHF, a human disease hiding in cattle and camels
• Marburg seroprevalence, Ghana
• Filovirus Investigations, USDA-ARS NBAF
• Current status of ASF control programs
• CSF – no presence in West Africa; updates on distribution of CCHF, RVF
• FMD – nasal swabs for detecting positivity in clinically normal animals
• Current issues with severe weather, impact on agriculture
• Tick-borne Diseases – The Wicked Problem
• Special pathogens – synergy between USDA and CDC; the role of US government in global animal health
• Benefits and obstacles to international collaboration on transboundary and emerging zoonotic diseases
• PPR Global Eradication Programme – WOAH/FAO
• The Quintessential One Health Pathogen: Rift Valley Fever Virus, Then and Now

The  GPAZDS is a USDA/APHIS project funded through the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF) that creates collaborations with partner laboratories in countries where high-consequence transboundary animal and zoonotic diseases are endemic or emerging. The main goal of GPAZDS is to foster and strengthen international partnerships and collaborations for surveillance and timely detection of transboundary animal and zoonotic disease threats

A total of nine institutions, in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, are participating in the Partnership, with each institution implementing projects designed to enhance diagnostics or surveillance of a particular pathogen and build or strengthen local capacity. The various projects are yielding valuable information about the risk of these pathogens, markedly enhancing partner capacity, and providing the National Veterinary Services Laboratories’ Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (NVSL FADDL) with valuable specimens for diagnostic test development to enhance US preparedness.

Please visit CDRFGlobal’s website for more information and to register for International Symposium on Transboundary and Emerging Zoonotic Diseases.