World Small Animal Veterinary Association

Event: 40th World Small Animal Veterinary Congress, Bangkok, May 15-18
Program: The congress attracted almost 4,000 attendees from several countries. More than 100 speakers presented lectures. Also on offer were master classes and workshops and a scientific program featuring several simultaneous streams. Keynote sessions included “Use of natural models to save cats with upper respiratory disease or diarrhea” by Dr. Michael R. Lappin, Denver. Dr. Nalinika Obeyesekere, Colombo, Sri Lanka, presented “One Medicine/One Health: The ground reality for Sri Lanka,” and Dr. Sivagurunathan Sivapiragasam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, presented “Challenges against the odds in companion animal practice in Asia.”
Awards: WSAVA International Award for Scientific Achievement: Dr. Michael R. Lappin, Denver, for contributions to global veterinary learning and knowledge of small animal infectious disease. Dr. Lappin serves as a professor of small animal clinical veterinary medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and a member of the WSAVA One Health Committee. WSAVA Global One Health Award: Dr. Nalinika Obeyesekere, Colombo, Sri Lanka, in recognition of her efforts to improve standards of veterinary care in Sri Lanka. Dr. Obeyesekere is chief executive officer of Blue Paw Trust, an organization dedicated to human health and advancement of animal welfare in Sri Lanka. She developed a mass canine rabies vaccination campaign that helped eliminate the disease in Colombo. WSAVA Global Meritorious Service Award: Dr. Mukti Narayan Shrestha, Kathmandu, Nepal, for achievements during his long and distinguished career. President of the Veterinary Practitioners’ Association of Nepal, Dr. Shrestha owns a small animal practice in Kathmandu and serves as an adjunct professor at the Himalayan College of Agricultural Science and Technology. He is trained in the care of zoo animals, has been an active participant in wildlife conservation programs, and is currently involved in relief work following the recent earthquake in the country. WSAVA Henry Schein Cares Award for International Community Service: Dr. Nantarika Chansue, Nonthaburi, Thailand, for her contributions toward keeping the animal, human, and environmental worlds in harmony throughout Southeast Asia. Dr. Chansue is an associate professor and director of the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Center within the Faculty of Veterinary Science at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Her work focuses on aquatic animal medicine, veterinary forensics, and aquarium management. WSAVA President’s Award: Awarded posthumously to Dr. Jan Gajentaan (see obituary, June 1, 2015, JAVMA). A past president of the WSAVA, Dr. Gajentaan was a professor of companion animal medicine and surgery in the Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals at the Utrecht University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in the Netherlands prior to retirement in the 1990s. Dr. Gajentaan founded the Voorjaarsdagen Congress and co-founded the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations and Federation of Veterinarians of Europe. WSAVA Hill’s Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare Award: Dr. Sivagurunathan Sivapiragasam, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for his work to raise standards of companion animal health care in Asia. Dr. Sivapiragasam is chairman of the Animal Medical Center Group of Hospitals in Malaysia and a past president of the Malaysian Small Animal Veterinary Association and Veterinary Association Malaysia. He founded and serves as deputy chairman of the Malaysian National Animal Welfare Foundation. WSAVA Hill’s Next Generation Award: Dr. Pantakarn Onnak, Chonburi, Thailand, for making a positive impact on Thailand’s animals and people using her veterinary skills. Owner of the Animal Lover ‘Raksat’ Clinic in Chonburi, she runs a program to neuter stray dogs and cats abandoned in Buddhist temples and educates young people about preventive health in companion animals. WSAVA Animal Welfare and Wellness Committee Competitive Travel Grant ($5,000): Dr. Lisa Deitz, Utrecht University, was the first recipient of this grant, enabling her to travel to the United Kingdom to participate in a project to develop a new cognitive bias test for movement-impaired dogs.
Business: The WSAVA called on member associations to focus on ending animal pain. The association’s Global Pain Council has developed the GPC Global Pain Recognition, Assessment, and Management Guidelines for use by veterinarians working worldwide. Representatives from 39 member associations endorsed the guidelines’ recommendations, bringing the total number of members who have endorsed them to 48. The WSAVA also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control to collaborate in the fight against canine rabies. The two organizations will work together to promote a humane response to rabies prevention and help improve health education in rabies-endemic countries.
Officials: Drs. Colin Burrows, Gainesville, Florida, president; Walt Ingwersen, Dundas, Canada, president-elect; Shane Ryan, Singapore, vice president; Jolle Kirpensteijn, Lawrence, Kansas, immediate past president; Ellen Van Nierop, Quito, Ecuador, honorary treasurer; Siraya Chunekamrai, Bangkok, honorary secretary; and board members—Drs. Nicola Neumann, Wicklow, Ireland, and Renee Chalmers Hoynck van Papendrecht, Den Helder, Netherlands