From September 31 to October 2, 2014, the "Workshop on Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases" took place at the Institute of Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine of Freie Universität Berlin. 78 scientists, including 9 international participants (Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, Spain), participated in the workshop. The aim of the workshop was to bring together all aspects of tick research. This was made possible because the workshop was organized as a "Joint Meeting" by 4 partners: the German Society for Medical Entomology and Acarology (DGMEA), the National Reference Laboratory for Q-fever of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, the Federal Environment Agency and the Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine of the Free University of Berlin. A total of 30 lectures and 10 posters were presented, all of which met with great interest.
The event was designed for scientists from biology, human and veterinary medicine. Topics covered included the biology of ticks, trends in the spread of the species, tick control and tick-borne diseases. In addition, aspects of the effects of climate change and environmental changes were discussed. On the third day of the event, a tick identification course took place as a practical part. Furthermore, it was demonstrated how ticks can be fed artificially. The joint dinners gave the opportunity for discussion and networking.
With the help of evaluation forms the workshop participants had the opportunity to comment on the event. Overall, the workshop was well received.
The organisers will try to implement the above suggestions and would like to thank the National Research Platform for Zoonoses for the joint realisation of the workshop.
Impressions:
Prof. Estrada-Peña gives the opening speech © FLI Wolfram Maginot
Participants © FLI Wolfram Maginot
Organizers and T. Petney © Birgit Habedank
Practical training © Birgit Habedank
