Scientist Travels

USGS NWHC microbiologist David Blehert gave a plenary talk entitled “Bats and Mycoses: White-Nose Syndrome” at the 2nd International Berlin Bat Meeting: Bat Biology and Infectious Diseases, February 19-21 in Berlin, Germany. The meeting was hosted by the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, an institute of the Leibniz-Gemeinschaft in Berlin that conducts integrated biological and veterinary research on wildlife. The aim of this year’s symposium, which focused on bat biology and infectious diseases, was to foster an exchange of ideas among international specialists from many disciplines working on bat diseases and bat biology.

USGS biologist Robert Dusek participated in a collaborative field study on the ecology of avian influenza in wild birds in Iceland from May 15 to June 7. This study is funded by the National Institute of Health through the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS). Research scientist and project leader, Jeffrey Hall, is coordinating the study and analyzing the samples and data. A better understanding of the ecology of Al in birds in this region will contribute to our ability to assess the threat of f highly pathogenic avian influenza to the US and coordinate a more effective response, if it is introduced.

NWHC wildlife pathologist Carol Meteyer will give a presentation entitled "Bat White-nose Syndrome Geomyces destructans in the United States: Strategies of a Novel Fungal Pathogen" at the 9th International Mycology Congress, which will take place from August 1-6 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. The IMC is presented by the International Mycological Association, a non-profit organization that represents the interests of over 30,000 mycologists worldwide. This year's meeting will focus on five themes: cell biology, biochemistry and physiology; environment, ecology and interactions; evolution, biodiversity and systematics; fungal pathogenesis and disease control; and genomics, genetics and molecular biology.

USGS wildlife disease scientist Jonathan Sleeman, Valerie Boschler, Tonie Rocke, Jeff Lorch, and Kristen Schuler, taught a workshop on Field Investigation of Wildlife Mortality to Latin American members of the Wildlife Disease Association (WDA) on May 30. This workshop, presented in English and Spanish, covered an introduction to the work at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, challenges in field investigations, necropsy videos, and case study reviews. About 80 participants registered for the workshop. The WDA meeting took place in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina from May 30-June 4.

NWHC emeritus scientist Milt Friend will give two presentations, “Disease emergence in wild birds (waterbirds and raptors)” and “Perspectives on wildlife conservations and wildlife health in a changing landscape,” on July 15 as part of the 2010 Envirovet Summer Institute, which will take place June 16- August 10 in Fort Pierce, FL. Friend will be speaking to an audience of mostly international participants from countries such as Tanzania, India, South Africa, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, Indonesia, Canada and Thailand. The Envirovet Summer Institute provides seven weeks of intensive lecture, laboratory and field experiences to veterinarians, veterinary students and wildlife biologists in the area of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem health in developed and developing country contexts. For more information, visit http://vetmed.illinois.edu/envirovet/

NWHC Director Jonathan Sleeman and NWHC research veterinarian Erik Hofmeister will be presenters at the Asia and North America International Conference on Wildlife Borne Disease, in Beijing, China, from July 19-23. Sleeman will speak about white-nose syndrome, and will also attend a meeting of Asia-Pacific nations to discuss the formation of an Asia-Pacific Wildlife Disease Network. Hofmeister will give a presentation entitled "West Nile Virus - North American Experience" and will also speak about avian cholera. The conference is hosted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Zoology. This year’s event aims to continue building international disease-monitoring networks among scientists in order to share expertise on wildlife-borne diseases, promote exchange of ideas and resources, and promote collaboration. The sponsors of the conference include the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the US Department of Agriculture, and the State Forestry Administration and they plan to publish a series of wildlife disease orientated papers from the conference in a Special Issue of the Journal Integrative Zoology – the official journal of the International Society of Zoological Sciences (http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/inz).