Under the direction of president-elect and program chair Dr. Ron Brodersen, the AASV Program Committee has focused on the theme "Beyond Our Oath: Integrity, Intensity, Professionalism" to assemble the presentations for the 46th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians. The conference will be held February 28 – March 3, 2015, in Orlando, Florida. The program is now online at www.aasv.org/annmtg.
Dr. Greg Stevenson will present the Howard Dunne Memorial Lecture, entitled "Because it’s the right thing to do," during the general session on Monday morning, March 2. Dr. C. Scanlon Daniels will follow with his presentation, "Influence and advocacy: Opportunities for swine veterinarians," during the Alex Hogg Memorial Lecture.
As might be expected, the topic of porcine epidemic diarrhea is slated to receive a generous share of attention during the program, with both a pre-conference seminar and a concurrent session devoted to PEDV and other enteric coronaviruses. Additionally, the general session on Tuesday morning, "Transboundary or FAD: What difference does it make?" will examine some of the efforts being made to avoid a repeat of PED history when the next emerging disease comes to call.
Besides PED, the concurrent sessions on Monday afternoon will address pig welfare and other significant swine disease topics, including influenza, PRRS, Mhyo, and PCV2. Pre-conference seminars on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning provide attendees with the opportunity to take a focused look at specific areas of interest, including coronavirus diagnostics, swine housing, reproduction, lameness, boar stud technologies, biosecurity, public policy, diarrhea, and nutrition, in addition to the ever-popular seminars on practice tips and swine medicine for veterinary students. Sunday afternoon will feature the Student Seminar scholarship competition as well as the Industrial Partners’ presentations. A poster session of 74 posters submitted by veterinary students, researchers, and industry partners begins at noon on Sunday and continues throughout the day on Monday.
Registration for the conference will open in late December. The AASV room block at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa, which serves as the meeting location, is now open and attendees are encouraged to reserve lodging rooms as soon as possible; details are online at www.aasv.org/annmtg/2015/lodging.htm. For additional information regarding the conference, see https://www.aasv.org/annmtg or contact the AASV office.