Viral zoonoses are virus infections of animals that can be naturally transmitted to man, often with devastating effect. Rabies is perhaps the prime example of a zoonotic viral infection, which causes some 60,000 human deaths per year. Zoonotic viral infections can also be the root of emerging diseases, with the 1993 outbreak of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the US being a classic exemplar. Clearly viral zoonosis will continue to be highly significant to human health in the future, and hence it seemed timely to hold a meeting devoted to this topic from the European perspective.

Eighty three participants gathered in the Côte d’Azure resort of St Raphaël at the (first) European Meeting on Viral Zoonoses in October 2001. Over two and a half days, scientific sessions covered the ecology, epidemiology, virology and prevention of zoonotic viral diseases. A number of keynote talks were distributed throughout the sessions: M Labuda (Bratislava) described the complex interactions between tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) its vector ticks and various vertebrate hosts in the transmission of this virus. M Bennett (Liverpool) reported on several years of observation on the ecology of cowpox virus in wild rodent population in the UK. H Zeller (Paris) gave a timely presentation on the status of West Nile virus in Europe, while E Gould (Oxford) presented a comprehensive analysis of flavivirus evolution. The role of Borna disease virus in human infection remains controversial and P Staehli (Freiburg) gave a well balanced account of the available evidence, highlighting some pitfalls of highly sensitive PCR techniques. F Heinz (Vienna) described in detail the structure and functions of flavivirus envelope glycoprotein, reflecting the excellent progress made in this area. A Vaheri (Helsinki) gave a comprehensive overview of molecular biology and pathogenesis of hantaviruses from the European viewpoint, which was contrasted appropriately by H Feldman (Winnipeg) who reviewed hantavirus in the Americas, followed by more detailed discussion of hantavirus glycoprotein processing. While rabies virus is no longer the scourge of Europe that it once was, R Chaves (Chiron) described the still serious situation in developing countries and improvements made to vaccine design and vaccination policy. J Beran (Hradec Kralove) described detailed studies on vaccination regimes against TBEV, indicating the great successes achieved in protecting humans against this disease.

In addition to the keynote talks other oral presentations covered many different aspects of the gamut of viral zoonotic viruses, including Sindbis virus (O Vapalahti, Helsinki), caliciviruses (I Clark, Southampton), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (C Clegg, Salisbury) and Lassa fever virus (ter Meulen, Marburg), while J Saluzzo (Acambis) concluded the meeting with a talk on the exciting prospects of recombinant vaccines based on yellow fever 17D vaccine.

A number of factors contribute to a successful meeting including quality of the science and the speakers, good audiovisual facilities, an attractive location, and smooth local organisation. Judging by the favourable feedback received, this meeting was considered highly successful. In addition, the topic attracted much interest from the pharmaceutical industry, with excellent sponsorship provided by Aventis Pasteur, Baxter Vaccine, Chiron Vaccines, Eurocine and Virbac. Therefore the organisers are proceeding with the ‘second’ European Meeting on Viral Zoonoses, to be held (probably) in 2003.



Richard M Elliott
20 November 2001