BTR
Discover the winning posters
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The ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute (OVI, Republic of South Africa) is the winner of the poster competition, held during the Global Conference on Biological Threat Reduction (Paris, France, 30 June – 2 July). The poster entitled “Animals as sentinels of bioterrorism agents: a retrospective analysis of the Rift Valley Fever outbreaks and West Nile Fever occurrences of 2009 to 2011 in South Africa” is a creation of Dr Baratang Alison Lubisi and her colleague Dr M Romito.
Dr Alison Lubisi (second from the right), with Dr Botlhe Modisane, the Chief Veterinary Officer of the Republic of South Africa and the President of the OIE World Assembly of Delegates (centre) and fellow countrymen posing for the picture, in solidarity with the winner, including OIE’s biosecurity officer (and proudly South African) Dawie Visser (left). Picture (c) M. Letshwenyo (oie) 2015.
Dr Lubisi is a virologist at ARC-OVI and she is also the OIE Designated (Reference Laboratory) Expert for several OIE listed diseases handled at the Institute, amongst which Rift Valley Fever.
About thirty posters on the subject of biosecurity, in line with the conference theme, were displayed and judged by a panel of experts comprising veterinarians, physicians and security personnel. Her poster emerged first followed by that of Dr Peter Holloway et al. of The Royal Veterinary College (England) and Dr Anna Tubbin et al. from the Swedish Board of Agriculture (Sweden) in third place.
