International Paratuberculosis Symposium to begin in Vrindavan on Monday

Mathura (UP), Oct 20 (PTI) Experts from 18 countries will gather in Vrindavan on Monday for a four-day symposium to discuss the identification and prevention of Johne's disease, which affects ruminants and could also pose a potential health risk to humans as believed by some experts.
    The '16th International Paratuberculosis Symposium' (ICP-2024) is being organised by the Department of Biotechnology, GLA University, Mathura, in collaboration with the US-based Paratuberculosis Association.
    At the symposium, being held for the first time in Asia, scientists from India and abroad will present updates on the latest research on zoonotic diseases (those transmitted from animals to humans), the organisers said.
    Professor Shoorveer Singh, the symposium's organising chairman and head of GLA University's biotechnology department said that the department of Biotechnology, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Government of India, in collaboration with a private sector animal health care product manufacturing company developed a vaccine for the prevention of Para TB in 2015.
     Currently, research is ongoing to prevent transmission of this bacterium from animals to humans, he said.
     Various topics like biotechnology, microbiology, molecular biology, immunology, genomics, proteomics, public health, pathology, and disease control will be covered at the symposium, he added.
    "Johne's disease or Paratuberculosis is a chronic, infectious, incurable bacterial disease that affects the productivity of ruminant animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, buffaloes and camels. The infection caused by 'mycobacterium paratuberculosis' also affects wild ruminant animals such as nilgai, wild buffalo and yak," Singh said.
    According to Singh humans are also susceptible to the disease animal milk, making its prevention vital for public health.
    Singh noted that previously it was believed that pasteurized milk was completely safe for humans consumption, but this assumption is now but this belief is being challenged by the detection of the bacterium in both open and packaged milk.
     Dr. NK Ganguly, former Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research, will inaugurate the conference, he said.
    "This symposium provides an opportunity to young and emerging researchers to showcase their work and participate in discussions on the progress made in this field in the last two years," Singh added.
    Earlier, 15 ICPs were organised in countries like America, England, Spain, France, Italy, Denmark, Japan, Australia, Mexico etc. and following this edition in India, it is proposed to be held in Germany next year.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)