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Fellow Organises RSM Symposium on Zoonoses

12th January 2010

Centre Fellow, David Spratt, FLS (Lond), FIBMS, FRSM, has arranged a one day symposium on “Zoonoses – from wildlife to warfare”. Held under the auspices of the Pathology Council of the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM), it will take place at the RSM in London on 2nd February 2010.

“This meeting will discuss the threats to humans, animals, and the environment from the emergence and transmission of zoonotic organisms”, commented David Spratt:

The relevance to the Centre’s work is that our interference with natural systems is leading to the increasing emergence of such organisms and threatening the natural balance of the planet’s ecosystems. Our use of animals in entertainment (zoos, circuses, exotic pets, etc) also puts animals into environments where such organisms can proliferate – with their subsequent passage to other animals and humans.

The Symposium will be chaired by Dr James Kirkwood, Chief Executive of the Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, and speakers will include: Professor Richard Titball, Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Exeter University (“Zoonotic pathogens and biological weapons”), Dr Andrew Cunningham, Head of Wildlife Epidemiology, Zoological Society of London (“Zoonotic disease threats from wildlife”), and Professor Stephen Palmer, Mansel Talbot Professor of Epidemiology, Cardiff University (“Rats, lice, mad cows and history”).

David Spratt, a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Biologist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, is Manager of the Department of Cellular Pathology for the North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust.

Conference details are available here, and people who would like to know more can email David at davidspratt@nhs.net.