Upon invitation of the French Association for Buiatrics, the 24th Congress of the World Association for Buiatrics was held in Nice, France, from October 15 to 19, 2006.
2315 delegates, 194 students, 175 accompanying persons and 466 exhibitors all together 3150 persons from 66 countries participated in the scientific and social programmes.

Fifty-two keynote lectures, 220 oral and 632 poster communications were presented on most topics related with buiatrics sciences. Three workshops, five industry symposiums and three forums or seminars were also organised.
The proceedings with the keynote lectures and the CD-rom (with oral and poster presentations) can be ordered from the organising committee:
Information: Dr H. Navetat, President of the Organizing Committee
Address: 14, rue Victor Hugo, F-03130 LE DONJON, France
Phone : +33-4-70995196
Fax : +33-4-70995447
E-mail: buiatrie@wanadoo.fr

During the joint meeting of the committee members and national representatives (presidents and secretaries or correspondents) of the WAB the following countries were pled by their representatives: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, France, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, USA, Uruguay.
During the Committee Meetings and the General Assembly, the following developments were discussed and approved:

-) Balance on July 1, 2004: 14,342.00
-) Receipts: 7,700.72
-) Expenses: 11,302.45
-) Balance on October 1, 2006: 10,740.27

The Organising committee of the 23rd World Buiatrics Congress, Hanover, Germany together with the German Association for Buiatrics donated the Secretariat of the World Association for Buiatrics (WAB) with 40,000 EUR in order to support the your scientists to take part in the World Buiatrics Congresses (20,000 EUR), to improve the website of the WAB (10,000 EUR), and to support the work of the secretariat of the WAB (10,000 EUR).
-)Receipts: 40,117.81
-) Expenses: 2,288.68
-) Balance on October 1, 2006: 37,829.13

Prof. Henner Scholz (The Organising committee of the 23rd World Buiatrics Congress, Hanover, Germany) and Prof. Winfried Hofmann (German Association for Buiatrics) were acknowledged for their financial support to the WAB secretariat.

• Cattle Association of Veterinary Ireland (CAVI), (Ireland)
• Croatian Association for Buiatrics (Croatia)
• Hachaklait (Israel)

have been accepted as affiliated groups to the WAB.

• Dr. Ramiro Diaz, Ecuador
• Dr. A.S. Nanda, India

have been accepted as contact members to the WAB.
Affiliated groups are invited to inform the WAB Secretariat about any changes in the name and/or the address of their contact members.

Santiago (Chile) was accepted by the Committee as the official organising candidate for the 26th Congress of the World Association for Buiatrics in 2010.

Lisbon (Portugal) was accepted by the Committee as the official organising candidate for the 27th Congress of the World Association for Buiatrics in 2012.

The candidatures and candidacy files must be sent in 15 samples to the WAB Secretariat before April 1, 2008.
The candidacy files must contain detailed information on:

• organising committee, scientific committee, potential major sponsors
• geographical localisation
• local infrastructure for conferences, accommodations and social activities
• scientific programme (invited and free presentations, satellite symposia, joint meetings, professional visits and other potential proposals)
• social programme
• marketing for the promotion of the congress
• proceedings, CD-rom and simultaneous translation
• balance of the finances including the fees to the WAB (please contact the WAB secretariat for more details)
• any other topic of potential interest for the selection of this venue.

After Dr. James Jarrett (USA) passed away last year Dr. A. El-Sebaie (Egypt) was nominated as a new committee member and Dr. Gatz Riddell (USA) as an observer for a two-year period.

Site: Budapest, Hungary
Date: July 6 - 11, 2008
Information: Dr Ottó Szenci, President of the Organizing Committee
Address: István ut 2, H-1078 BUDAPEST, Hungary
Phone : +36-29-521301; fax : +36-1-3835247
E-Mail: szenci.otto@aotk.szie.hu
Website: www.xxvwbc2008.com

WAB is pleased to announce that the first WAB Scholarship will be awarded at the 25th WBC in Budapest in July 2008. The scholarship will provide a free congress fee for the young scientist. By offering this scholarship WAB wishes to contribute to the development of young scientists from all over the world. Selection criteria will be based on an accepted scientific abstract for oral presentation where the young scientist is the first author.

For the 2006 edition of the Espinasse Award, Merial awards, in the framework of the World Buatrics Congress held in Nice, the study of Benoit MUYLKENS regarding the impact of two parameters, the recombination and the viral latency, influencing the control of the infectious bovine rhinotracheitis, was awarded. This study contributes to a better understanding of these parameters.
Let remind us, that the infectious bovine rhinotracheitis is caused by the bovine herpes virus 1, which is an infectious disease of ruminants present in all five continents. Its control is dealt with by different approaches depending on the different sanitary situation or local spread. In any case, the vaccination against the virus is a key tool to control the disease envisaging its disappearance. Also, the better understanding of the fundaments of the virus and its vaccinations allow optimizing the strategies of control.
Four years of research allowed Benoit MUYLKENS to come to the following proposals and results on four different topics of his studies:

a study on the phenomenon of recombination between the wild-type and vaccine strains leading to the evidence of the possible association of the gE negative character to a conserved intensity of the BoHV-1,
a viral diagnostic test of a latent infection through a research on triplet ganglions
a proposal of a control plan for Belgium
a comparative study of attenuated vaccine versus an inactive vaccine in order to prevent the viral re-excretion confirming the superiority of inactive vaccines to reach that objective.

The winner of the 2006 Merial Gustave Rosenberger Memorial Award ( Euros 12.500) is Dr. Vitaliy Dubinskyy Lviv, Ukraine who will be able to spend two years at the Hanover Clinic for Diseases of Cattle, Hanover, Germany.
The GRMA was funded after the World Buiatrics Congress held in Amsterdam (1982) with the objective (art 2 or the regulations) "to further bovine medicine at an international level, as well as furthering the related research in the broadest sense". The idea is a grant for an educative stay of at least 3 months for a young and promising vet from a developing country in an institute like the Rinderklinik in Hanover or any other institute of comparable level.

European College of Bovine Health Management was established in 2003. The primary objective of the College shall be to advance health oriented bovine production management in the herd context in Europe and increase the competency of those who practice in this field by establishing guidelines and standards of training for postgraduate education and experience prerequisite to become a specialist in the speciality of bovine health management; examining and authenticating veterinarians as specialists in bovine herd health management to serve the veterinary patient, its owner, the consumer of products originating from the bovine and the public in general, by providing expert care for cattle; encouraging research and other contributions to the science and practice of bovine herd health management including; animal husbandry, internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and reproductive management, as they relate to the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, prevention, and control of diseases directly or indirectly affecting bovidae and the maintenance of healthy productive cattle herds. Bovine health management also includes, at the level of the animal, those aspects of bovine diseases and bovine derived pathogens that impact on quality and safety of bovine products and gives special consideration to herd health and production, production systems and targets and the management of cattle populations; promoting communication and dissemination of knowledge related to the above. To get more information please visit http://www.ecbhm.org/.

Any further information may be obtained from the WAB Secretariat, c/o
Dr O. Szenci
Szent István University
Faculty of Veterinary Science
P.O. Box 2
H-1400 Budapest, Hungary
Phone: +36-29-521301
Mobil: +36-30-9624092
Fax : +36-29-521303
E-Mail: szenci.otto@aotk.szie.hu
Website: www.xxvwbc2008.com