The IXth FEEVA Disease Surveillance Summit was held at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig on 23–24 September 2025. The event brought together equine veterinary experts from across Europe and beyond to share the latest insights on equine disease monitoring, research, and prevention.
The summit opened with welcome remarks from Michael Köhler and Lucjan Witkowski (both FEEVA Vice-Presidents and Co-Chairs of the Disease Surveillance Working Group), setting the stage for two days of expert presentations, discussions, and networking.
On Tuesday, 23 September, participants explored a range of equine disease topics, including updates on Besnoitia and Neospora (Amir Steinman, Israel), equine hepatic viruses in donkeys (Alexandra Muresan, Romania, online), and the latest field data on STRANGVAC (Andrew Waller, Intervacc). The day also featured a round-table discussion on strangles and other streptococcal infections and a presentation on the silent shedding of respiratory pathogens in show horses (Nicola Pusterla & Eric Mendonsa, USA, online).
Wednesday, 24 September, focused on ongoing disease surveillance and emerging threats. Highlights included sessions on Rhodococcus equi infections (Monica Venner, Germany), the cellular immune response after West Nile neuroinvasive disease (Csenge Tolnai, Hungary), and equine salmonella and abortion cases in Poland (Lucjan Witkowski & Monika Żychska, Poland, online). Other updates covered equine parapoxvirus epidemics in Finland (Katja Hautala), the Swiss awareness initiative on equine infectious anemia (Franziska Remy-Wohlfender), and insights from the FEEVA network and WOAH on disease surveillance and international collaboration.
Throughout the summit, presentations from partners and sponsors—including GEVA, Fluxergy, Dechra, and VETEO—highlighted innovative tools and approaches in equine health. The event concluded with discussions on One Health approaches, electronic certification, and disease surveillance advancements, reinforcing FEEVA’s commitment to safeguarding equine health across Europe.
The IXth Disease Surveillance Summit successfully provided a platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration, strengthening the European equine veterinary community’s capacity to monitor and respond to emerging threats.
