The CWHC was well-represented at a scientific symposium in Guelph, Ontario, last week. The Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses Scientific Symposium was held on May 28, 2015, and included presentations from members of the CWHC, as well as the University of Guelph, Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH), the Ontario Ministry of Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), the University of California (UC Davis), and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC).
Members of the CWHC and many of their graduate students made the following presentations:
- Jane Parmley (CWHC) spoke about the potential role of wild birds in the spread of Avian Influenza.
- Claire Jardine (CWHC, University of Guelph faculty) presented on the “Prevalence and intensity of Baylisascaris procyonis infections in raccoons from Ontario.”
- Nicole Nemeth (CWHC, University of Guelph faculty) discussed “The potential utility of a non-conventional surveillance method for Blastomyces dermatitidis using the red fox (Vulpes vulpes).”
- Ariel Porty (MSc Candidate, Laurentian University/University of Guelph) presented on “Investigating the ecology of Coxiella burnetii at the livestock-wildlife interface.”
- Katie Clow (PhD Candidate, University of Guelph) talked about “The distribution of Ixodes scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi in Ontario, Canada.”
- Mythri Viswanathan (MSc Candidate, University of Guelph) presented on “Cluster analysis of Campylobacter isolates from cattle, swine, and mammalian wildlife on southern Ontario Farms.”
- Andrea Thomas-Bachli (PhD Candidate, University of Guelph) discussed “Corvid and mosquito pool surveillance for the detection of West Nile Virus in Ontario, 2002-2008.”
In addition to these presentations, graduate projects were also represented with posters:
- Kristin Bondo (PhD Candidate, University of Guelph) had a poster on “Epidemiology of Salmonella in raccoons and their environment on swine farms and conservation areas.”
- Christine James (MSc Candidate, University of Guelph) presented her work on “The epidemiology of Ixodes scapularis and Borrelia burgdorferi of pet dogs living in an emerging Lyme disease area in Ontario.”
- Genet Medhanie (PhD Candidate, University of Guelph) presented her poster on “Spatial clustering of antimicrobial resistant organisms among dairy cattle relative to the European starling night roosts.”
- In addition to her presentation, Mythri Viswanathan had a poster for her work on Campylobacter
For more info regarding the Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ) and their scientific symposium, visit: http://ovc.uoguelph.ca/cphaz
Submitted by David Cristo – CWHC Ontario/Nunavut