Last week, Liverpool hosted the sixth biennial UK Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs) Conference at The Spine, the biggest meeting on vector-borne diseases in the UK to date. The conference brought researchers and experts from various sectors together to address the growing threat of VBDs.
The conference, opened by a welcome note from Professor Matthew Baylis, Executive Dean of the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences (IVES), marked the start of two days filled with talks and presentations from attendees from all over the UK including 25 universities, BBSRC, UK Health Security Agency, DEFRA, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the Pirbright Institute, the Met Office and many more.
The conference was separated into six themes;
- Vector-host-pathogen interaction
- Emerging vector-borne diseases
- Vector and disease control
- Diversity and genomics
- Vector ecology and surveillance
- One Health approach to VBDs
Each session contained poster sessions, presentations and flash talks with plenty of time to connect and network with other researchers.
The conference also hosted three keynote speakers, Professor Polly Roy from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Dr Trisna Tungadi from Keele University, and Professor Stephen Higgs from Kansas State University.
The event was the biggest meeting on VBDs held in the UK to date. Professor Matthew Baylis said, “It was wonderful to be able to hold the biannual UK-VBD meeting in Liverpool once again, especially at a time when vector-borne diseases are emerging and threatening the country as never before.
“The event was hugely enjoyable with excellent presentations and posters, a fascinating panel discussion and good engagement from the audience throughout. I am very grateful to the three keynote speakers, the organising committee, staff at the Spine and the IVES admin support who helped make the event such a success.”
The meeting was dedicated to the memory of Professor John Stephenson who led, and co-organised, all previous UK VBD meetings.