Bayer to educate physicians and veterinarians around the globe on vector-borne diseases

Companion Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) Web Conference seeks to engage thousands of animal health and public health professionals worldwide through a digital approach

News provided by

Bayer Corporation

Apr 13, 2015, 08:00 ET

SHAWNEE, Kan., April 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), vector-borne diseases--carried by fleas, ticks and other vectors--are a major public health threat, infecting more than one billion people every year and resulting in more than one million deaths.¹

Bayer to educate physicians and veterinarians around the globe on vector-borne diseases

Registration for the CVBD web conference at www.cvbdwebconference.com.

For 10 years, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health has been engaging with veterinarians, physicians and experts around the world on vector-borne diseases. This initiative continues today as registration opens at www.cvbdwebconference.com for the 4^th Annual CVBD (Companion Vector-Borne Diseases) Web Conference. The web conference's emphasis on One Health, which addresses zoonotic disease within the veterinary and public health fields, is led by a group of world-renowned experts, including members of the CVBD World Forum, which represents leading perspectives on the science and prevention of vector-borne zoonotic diseases.

The CVBD web conference will enable veterinarians and physicians to derive insights from a roundtable discussion with leading experts, including those from departments of human and veterinary medicine worldwide, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC.) Topics to be covered include rickettsiosis, bartonellosis, leishmaniasis, and other diseases transmitted by ectoparasites, such as fleas, ticks and sandflies. In order to reach a global audience effectively, content will be provided in eight different languages: Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. The 90 minute web conference will be broadcast in the United States on April 28, with a broadcast for the rest of the world available on May 13.

"This innovative format helps us educate and inform key audiences on an important public health topic that affects millions of people around the world and we're excited to engage the globe on this topic of growing importance," said Dr. Dirk Ehle, Head Bayer Animal Health. "The CVBD Web Conference represents our largest external stakeholder event at Bayer Animal Health."

According to Dr. Joe Hostetler, Manager of Veterinary Technical Services, Bayer HealthCare Animal Health, "Bayer's focus on this topic highlights our dedication to advancing life sciences and our mission, Science For A Better Life." "Here at Bayer, we are deeply committed to educating the medical community on critical public health topics that can impact our families and our pets," he said. "This web conference is very relevant since it will highlight how vector-borne diseases that may occur in people and animals are preventable."

About Companion Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD^®)

Companion vector-borne diseases (CVBD) are a growing international public health threat. These diseases are transmitted by blood-feeding ectoparasites including ticks (Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis and hemoplasmosis), fleas (canine bartonellosis and feline rickettsiosis), and sand flies (leishmaniosis). They are known to veterinarians and public health professionals throughout the world and, in some cases, also have zoonotic consequences.

About One Health

The One Health approach recognizes the connections between the health of humans and animals in an ecosystem, and encourages multidisciplinary collaboration among professionals in veterinary medicine, human medicine and public health to better monitor and control disease threats. The One Health approach calls for a unified approach against zoonotic diseases.

About the Companion Vector-Borne Diseases (CVBD) Web Conference

The CVBD web conference is supported by Bayer HealthCare's Animal Health Division, a specialist in the field of parasite prevention. This 4^th CVBD web conference is designed to engage experts and specialists in veterinary medicine, human health and medicine, and public health to raise scientific awareness of zoonosis, One Health and its global impact. More information at www.cvbdwebconference.com.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of around EUR 20.0 billion (2014), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care, Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to discover, develop, manufacture and market products that will improve human and animal health worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 60,700 employees (Dec 31, 2014) and is represented in more than 100 countries. More information is available at www.healthcare.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer Group or subgroup management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer's public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

¹World Health Organization (WHO), World Health Day 2014: Preventing vector-borne diseases, "Small bite, big threat" News Release.

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SOURCE Bayer Corporation