More Than 3,000 Veterinarian Views of the Latest Insights Into Canine Vector Borne Diseases Management

Monheim, Germany (ots/PRNewswire) -

Four WebConferences from 7th International CVBD World Forum
attract more than 3,000 viewers from around the world to hear case
studies from leading international experts

Bayer Animal Health today announced that the recent educational
WebConfererences following the Seventh Canine Vector-Borne Disease
(CVBD) World Forum were watched by an unprecedented audience of
veterinarians from more than 50 countries worldwide. As a result of
the scale of interest in the WebConferences they will now be hosted
at http://www.cvbd.org, to remain available for continuous education
for veterinarians.

Professor Michael Day of the University of Bristol, UK, who
chaired one of the sessions spoke of the success of the event, "I've
been involved in a number of similar activities to this, but I've
never before seen so much interest from across the globe; and the 500
questions that we received really highlighted to us all just how
engaged and eager to learn the veterinary community are about CVBDs.
This gives me real hope that the threat from CVBDs is being taken
seriously and that our messages around the One Health initiative and
the need for better protection, diagnosis and treatment for the sake
of both animal and human health are being understood worldwide."

According to Lourdes Mottier of Bayer Animal Health, the success
of these WebConferences is indicative of the increasing importance of
CVBDs in veterinary practice, "We knew that we had an exciting range
of speakers from the CVBD World Forum but even we were surprised to
see so many attendees from so many countries. I think this truly
demonstrates how great the need is for sharing more information about
the management of these diseases."

The WebConferences cover two areas of particular interest due to
recent advances in our understanding of CVBDs; the diagnosis and
management of canine leishmaniosis and the diagnosis and management
of flea- and tick-borne diseases in general. The sessions were
chaired by Professor Gad Baneth, Hebrew University, Israel, and
Professor Michael Day of the University of Bristol, UK, respectively.

The WebConference on leishmaniosis collected together renowned
experts to discuss the many presentations of canine leishmaniosis.
Prof. Gaetano Oliva (Universita di Napoli, Federico II, Italy), Dr.
Luis Cardoso (University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal),
and Prof. Lluis Ferrer (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain)
discussed cases with non-traditional presentation of leishmaniosis,
with the dominant diagnostic features being the presence of nodules
affecting the nostril, tongue and pinna respectively. Prof. Guadalupe
Miro of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, took the
audience through the case of a dog presenting with strongyloidosis
exacerbated by co-infection with leishmaniosis. The session was
concluded by Prof. Patrick Bourdeau (Unite de Dermatologie,
Parasitologie, Mycologie, Ecole Nationale Veterinaire,
Agroalimentaire et de l'Alimentation, Francia), with a discussion of
the differing outcomes that can be experienced by dogs infected with
leishmaniosis.

According to Professor Gaetano Oliva, the experience of taking
part in the WebConferences was educational for everyone involved, "We
don't have the opportunity to share our experience in this kind of
environment often enough. These kinds of event are increasingly going
to provide the veterinary community with the chance to disseminate
information rapidly and efficiently so everyone, regardless of where
they practice, will be able to stay abreast of the latest
developments in the field. To my mind, that is a great thing, and I
am very much looking forward to the opportunity to do something
similar again soon. I hope our audience found it equally useful."

Norbert Mencke of Bayer Animal Health spoke of the event, "These
WebConferences are just a part of Bayer Animal Health's on-going
commitment to support veterinarians around the globe with continuous
educational material. Here in particular to improve the understanding
and management of CVBDs. We are very happy to have been able to share
this event with the veterinary community around the world, and hope
that many more will be able to benefit from viewing the sessions at
our website http://www.cvbd.org."

About The CVBD World Forum

The CVBD World Forum is a working group of leading experts in
natural sciences, veterinary and human medicine from Europe, North
America, Latin America, Australia and Asia. It was founded during the
1st International CVBD Symposium in April 2006 in Billesley, UK, as a
consequence of the increasing global threats through canine
vector-borne diseases (CVBD). The main goal of the CVBD World Forum
is to exchange knowledge and findings about
ectoparasite-pathogen-host interaction as well as the
characterisation and assessment of the distribution of pathogens and
vectors in order to increase awareness for the specific regional
risks of CVBD and to foster preventative measures. This work is
supported by Bayer HealthCare, Animal Health Division.

About Bayer HealthCare

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in
the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer
HealthCare, a subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of EUR 17.2
billion (2011), 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 55,700
employees (Dec 31, 2011) and is represented in more than 100
countries. Find more information at http://www.bayerhealthcare.com.

With a turnover of EUR 1.190 million (2011) Bayer HealthCare's
Animal Health Division is one of the world's leading manufacturers of
veterinary drugs. The division manufactures and markets more than 100
different veterinary drugs and care products for livestock and
companion animals.

Find more information at
http://www.animalhealth.bayerhealthcare.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 http://www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability
whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform
them to future events or developments.

ots Originaltext: Bayer Animal Health
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Contact: Kathrin Statz, Tel. +49-2173-38-4019, E-Mail:
kathrin.statz@bayer.com