Pathobiology, University of Illinois

Eleventh Annual
New and Reemerging
Infectious Diseases Conference

Thursday, April 17, and Friday, April 18, 2008
College of Veterinary Medicine
Large Animal Clinic Auditorium

The Annual Conference on New and Reemerging Infectious Diseases brings together national and international experts whose research interests range from avian influenza to West Nile virus. This two-day, on-campus event features lectures, posters, and a keynote presentation.

Read more about the conference.

Download the proceedings.

Ugandan monkeys harbor evidence of infection with unknown poxvirus.

Anne Barger, professor of veterinary pathobiology, and Tim Fan, professor of veterinary clinical medicine, have found that a molecular pathway known to have a role in the progression of bone cancer in humans is also critical to the pathology of skeletal tumors in dogs and cats. Barger's dog, Stu, poses with the researchers.

The red colobus monkey is in decline in forest fragments in western Uganda. U. of I. researchers found that forest fragmentation increases the burden of infectious parasites on animals already stressed by disturbances to their habitat.

Thomas Gillespie, professor of pathobiology and of anthropology, and a McGill University colleague followed the monkeys for four years, collecting data on how far the animals ranged, what they ate and which parasites were infecting them.

Dr. Dongwan Yoo joined the department of pathobiology in December of 2006. His current research involves Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV. PRRSV is an emerged virus in pigs. This virus emerged a decade ago in North America and Europe independently, and is now found worldwide. PRRSV infection results in acute reproductive failure in pregnant sows and severe respiratory illness in young pigs.