ITM Alumni webinar: “A scoping review of viral diseases in African ungulates”
09/12 - 30/11/2021

ITM alumni webinar series featuring the winners of the Prize for Global Research 2021 of the Province of Antwerp

Webinar #4: “A scoping review of viral diseases in African ungulates”

Register in advance via Zoom.

Description:

This new series of ITM alumni webinars features the four ITM winners of the Prize for Global Research 2021. The Prize for Global Research is awarded yearly by the Province of Antwerp to research projects of ‘master-after-master’-students of ITM and other HEIs. Development relevance, quality and originality of the master theses are key in the selection. Through this award, the Province of Antwerp wants to stimulate research relating to the global South.

In webinar #4, ITM-alumnus and laureate Hendrik Swanepoel (South Africa) will present his master’s thesis, entitled “A scoping review of viral diseases in African ungulates”.

Viral diseases are important in the African context as they cause significant clinical disease in both wild and domestic animals, as well as in humans. Viral diseases make up a large proportion of emerging infectious diseases. The management and prevention of these diseases have proven to be challenging due to the large population of reservoir hosts consisting of African wildlife. There is no comprehensive publication investigating viruses in African ungulates. Hence, this research study provides comprehensive analyses to add to the current global knowledge base and provide guidance about areas where there is little information.

In this webinar, Hendrik’s research findings will be the starting point for a topical exchange and discussion tackling a number of questions.  

  1. Which viruses have been diagnosed in African ungulates?
  2. Which African ungulates have had viruses or viral diseases diagnosed?
  3. What is the geographical distribution of these viruses and their diseases?
  4. Which diseases are “under-studied”?

The Q&A-session will be moderated by Prof Melvyn Quan, Associate Professor at the University of Pretoria and Hendrik’s thesis coach.

SPEAKERS

Hendrik Swanepoel, Veterinarian, Australia and South Africa

Moderator:

Melvyn Quan, Associate Professor, University of Pretoria, South Africa