World Small Animal Veterinary Association – Oct. 29-31, 2022

Event

47th World Small Animal Veterinary Association Congress, Oct. 29-31, Lima, Peru

Program

The congress attracted more than 1,500 attendees. On offer was a continuing education program designed for companion animal practitioners. An updated set of Global Guidelines for the Recognition, Assessment, and Treatment of Pain from the WSAVA’s Global Pain Council was launched at the congress. The new guidelines are available from the website of the Journal of Small Animal Practice.

The annual “Shaping the Future” session highlighted the issues faced by many veterinarians in obtaining access to basic veterinary medicines. The stakeholder summit following the session resulted in the setup of a task force to help develop solutions to ensure that veterinarians have easy access to the medicines they need to provide optimal care to their patients.

Awards

WSAVA Award for Global Meritorious Service

Dr. Faouzi Kechrid, Tunis, Tunisia, was recognized for his contributions to One Health and to the veterinary profession in Tunisia, all of Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. During his career, Dr. Kechrid has worked in several areas of veterinary medicine, including animal and public health, animal welfare, and food security. He has served as a consultant and adviser to the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health on several projects, including assessments of avian influenza and transboundary animal diseases in the Middle East and North Africa, and the coordination of several veterinary conferences. A past president of the World Veterinary Association, Dr. Kechrid is the president of the Euro-Arab Veterinary Association and the African Veterinary Association. He is also a founder and vice president of the Federation of Francophone Associations of Veterinarians.

WSAVA Award for Global Scientific Achievement

Dr. Kenneth Simpson, Ithaca, New York, was honored for outstanding contributions, particularly in the areas of internal medicine and veterinary gastroenterology. Dr. Simpson is a professor of small animal medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. His research interests focus on inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, host-bacterial interactions in health and disease, and culture-independent bacteriology. His work in evaluating the interplay between genetic susceptibility, the microbiome, the host environment, and the host immune system played an important role in his team’s discovery of an adherent-invasive Escherichia coli and its role in granulomatous colitis in Boxers and French Bulldogs. The work also spurred studies that implicate AIEC metabolism as a target for therapeutic intervention in people with Crohn’s disease and dogs with granulomatous colitis. Dr. Simpson is a diplomate of the American and European colleges of veterinary internal medicine, and he is a past president of the Comparative Gastroenterology Society.

WSAVA One Health Award

Dr. Filipe Dantas-Torres, Recife, Brazil, won this award, given in recognition of his campaigns against killing dogs infected with canine leishmaniasis. Dr. Dantas-Torres is a researcher in the Department of Immunology at the Aggeu Magalhães Institute in Recife. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the journal Parasites and Vectors. Dr. Dantas-Torres is president of the Tropical Council for Companion Animal Parasites. As president, he works to educate veterinary colleagues and stakeholders across Latin America about controlling canine leishmaniasis via the use of repellents and vaccinations versus culling infected dogs. Dr. Dantas-Torres is a director of the World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology and is certified by the European Board of Veterinary Specialization as a specialist in parasitology.

WSAVA Companion Animal Welfare Award

Dr. Silvina Muñiz, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Dr. Muñiz is a director of Vet Clínica in Buenos Aires and serves as veterinary director of Dog Run Argentina, an association overseeing the health and welfare of dogs participating in sports. Using mass media to promote responsible pet ownership and to campaign on animal welfare issues, Dr. Muñiz is presenter of the TV show “VETv/Canal Vet,” also participating in TV and radio programs dealing with animal welfare. In 2019, she played an important role in a debate held in the Argentine National Congress Lower House regarding the reform of Law 14346 in Argentina, covering the prevention of animal cruelty.

WSAVA Future Leader Award, sponsored by the Purina Institute

Dr. Muhammad Hasan Mahrous, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was recognized for his contributions to association building in his home country of Egypt and for his efforts to increase access to continuing education for Egyptian veterinarians. Dr. Hasan Mahrous practices in Dubai. While a veterinary student, he established the Egyptian chapter of the International Veterinary Students’ Association. He later played an important role in founding the Egyptian Small Animal Veterinary Association.

WSAVA President’s Award

Drs. Nicola Neumann, Gorey, Ireland, and Gregg Takashima, Lake Oswego, Oregon. Dr. Neumann practices in Gorey. A founding member of the WSAVA’s Congress Steering Committee, she created the blueprint for the world congress. Dr. Neumann later served on the WSAVA Executive Board as congress liaison officer. In that role, she developed congress bidding and evaluation processes and standing operating procedures from scratch. Dr. Takashima owns Parkway Veterinary Hospital in Lake Oswego. He is a past co-chair of the WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee. During his time as co-chair, Dr. Takashima co-authored the committee’s Global Nutrition Guidelines and Global Nutrition Toolkit. He has also served on the WSAVA’s One Health Committee and contributed to the WSAVA Animal Welfare Guidelines and Welfare Charter created by WSAVA’s Animal Wellness and Welfare Committee.

Business

The WSAVA welcomed the Small Species VMA in Panama as a full member and the American Animal Hospital Association as an affiliate member. The Tanzania Small Animal Veterinary Organization, formerly an associate member, became a full member, and the Veterinary Practitioners’ Association Nepal, formerly a full member, became an associate member. The association granted two-year extensions to the Tunisian General Union of Veterinarians and the Venezuelan Society of Small Animal Veterinary Physicians and a one-year extension to the Ghana Private Veterinary Surgeons Association, the Council of the Association of Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Technicians of Haiti, and the Caribbean VMA, all associate members. The Iran Small Animal Veterinary Association and the Georgian Small Animals Veterinary Association are no longer members of the WSAVA. The association voted to confirm the locations of its future congresses as Lisbon, Portugal, in 2023; Shanghai in 2024; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2025; Warsaw, Poland, in 2026; Hyderabad, India, in 2027; and the Americas in 2028, for which the bidding will commence in 2023.

Officials

Drs. Ellen van Nierop, Quito, Ecuador, president; Jim Berry, Fredericton, Canada, vice president; Siraya Chunekamrai, Bangkok, immediate past president; Oscar Umaña, San Jose, Costa Rica, honorary treasurer; and board members—Drs. Felisbina Queiroga, Vila Real, Portugal, and Jerzy Gawor, Krakow, Poland