Save the date! 26-27 November 2008, Prague

Vaccines: They get the animal health people talking

If the topics I’ve been discussing this week with the Animal Health industry are anything to go by, AnimalPharm’s Veterinary Vaccines conference this year promises to be an exciting event.

The main topics which have emerged as being particularly important this year are many and varied but have centred around emerging diseases and especially Blue Tongue.

People are interested to hear about the public perceptions surrounding vaccination:

How governments are planning policy to respond to the threat of emerging diseases; how regulators have responded to the rapid requirement for the blue tongue vaccine; the final draft of annex I and what it means for industry; compare and contrast between the two vaccines which have been developed for blue tongue; lessons which can be learnt from the Pirbright foot and mouth outbreak; how the new variations legislation will affect veterinary vaccines; how the DCP is being harmonised across the Member States; the development of the blue tongue vaccine; overcoming problems in the manufacture process of a vaccine; industry and national planning for emerging diseases; technology updates for novel vaccine vectors; recombinant vaccines; adjuvant technology; vector vaccines...

The media circus outside the Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright, Surrey. The incident is another talking point Photo: Salina Christmas

...DNA vaccines; prime boost vaccines; plant vaccines; delayed release systems; alternative administration techniques; views of different countries on rolling out vaccination programmes for avian influenza (AI); selecting for animals which respond well to vaccination; vector borne diseases; fish vaccines; pox viruses; viral particle vaccines; development of activated pan-reactive vaccines; the melanoma vaccine for canines; parasitic vaccines, and advice for registering products in Europe and the US.

So… as you can see, I’ve got my work cut out trying to fit all of these topics into a mere two-day agenda (!) but with the level of innovative work going on in the veterinary vaccines arena at the moment and the excellent guidance I have received from people working in this area, I am sure that the result will be a highly topical and interesting meeting.

If there are any topics or specific speakers that you would like to see at the veterinary vaccines conference, or if you yourself are interested in speaking this November please leave a comment!

Labour of love

Because he's worth it: Wiggles the wombat receives treatment at the Queensland's Wombat Research Centre. The project is supported by Bioniche Animal Health A/Asia Photo: Wombat Research Centre

Veterinarians deserve more recognition for their pro bono works, says Dr Mark Lawrie, President-elect of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA).

The AVA marked World Veterinary Day, which fell on 26th April 2008, by recognising the contribution of veterinarians to society. According to Dr Lawrie, whilst other professions such as the law industry are recognised for their pro bono work and contribution to society, the contribution by veterinarians is not often acknowledged.

According to the AVA, Australian vets do almost AUD$30 million (£14.2 million) of pro bono work each year. “The average veterinary practice performs approximately $16,565 worth of pro bono work each year. The cost of treating an animal may include the cost of consultation, hospitalisation, treatment, euthanasia and disposal of the animal,” Dr Lawrie said.

"Veterinarians are deeply committed to the care and welfare of animals and each year, the profession donates millions of dollars of unpaid veterinary services treating sick or injured stray pets, wildlife or livestock. This is in addition to the work done by volunteer veterinarians on charity projects throughout the developing world and remote communities in Australia."

At the time of writing, I am in the middle of interviewing Warren Waybright, one of the winners of the Vet Penn Student Inspiration Award. Waybright, a third year student at Vet Penn - and a Gettysburg native - plans to use the US$100,000 (in unrestricted funding) won to develop a veterinary outreach program to Bolivia and other South American countries.

He doesn't have to do it, but this is the thing I admire about people of philanthropic nature: they don't have to do the good works. Maybe some do it out of a sense of duty, but most do it because they want to. Sir Peter Hall, not quite a veterinarian but equally inspiring nonetheless, hit the nail on the head when he said: "No one has a duty to do anything. Never make that mistake. Do what you're passionate about."

PetScreen founders' Graeme Radcliffe (pictured, right) with his dogs Libby, Hugo and Saskia, and Dr Kevin Slater (pictured, left). The company provides MAF with financial help for two canine research studies Photo: PetScreen

I do wonder if the media, especially the trade press, could have helped more in highlighting the veterinarians' pro bono works. Editors in general, because of the news slant or the commercial pressures put on them, often put the philanthropic or corporate social responsibility (CSR) news aside to give priority to 'hard' news - the facts and the numbers that are needed by the readers to make informed decisions.

If the news selection is motivated by commerce, then perhaps it's good for the vets, in particular the UK ones, to let the press know that every company in the UK that is worth more than £5 million must have a CSR programme. So you can assume that a major corporation (the media's potential advertiser) has a budget for CSR. Nowadays, we see a lot of ads by major corporations highlighting their green projects or community works, an indication that their Marketing departments are very aware of the opportunities these initiatives offer, at least in terms of publicity.

We try to highlight the good works done by veterinarians and also animal health companies, especially on our website, where we have the least space and time constraint. Some animal health companies seem to be doing a lot of CSR works through partnerships with various associations for projects such as the Morris Animal Foundation, Barbaro Memorial Fund and The European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD).

If there are any veterinary associations out there that want to have their pro bono works highlighted, do tell us. We can't promise they will be featured in all of our products, but they'd probably get a mention on this blog.