During the AAEP Convention being held on December 1-5, 2012, in Anaheim, California, winners of the second annual Boehringer Ingelheim Advancement in Equine Research Award Program will be announced.
Focus of research - Pigeon fever in horses
For 2012, the Boehringer Ingelheim Advancement in Equine Research Award Program focused on Pigeon Fever.
The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 42,000 employees.
Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel products of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.
Citing the fact that Boehringer Ingelheim scientists, researchers, practicing veterinarians, animal health companies, and horse owners have long been dedicated to improving the health of the horse the company acknowledged the need for more knowledge in regards to disease prevention, lameness and general wellness as the reason for their annual awards program.
The BIVI Equine Research Award focuses on one specific equine disease area each year. For 2012 the equine disease of focus was Pigeon Fever (Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis).
For a chance to win an award, proposals had to address one or more specific criteria to be considered:
- Pathophysiology of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and development of an equine challenge model.
- Virulence factors and strain differences among isolates of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis isolated from internal and external infections and different geographic locations.
- Increased incidence and spread to different geographic locations and association with climate change.
- Comparison of host immunity between infections resulting in internal infection and recurrent infection in recovered horses.
- Seasonality of infection with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and studies of insect vectors.
With many horse owners, veterinarians, students, and horse lovers attending the AAEP Convention in December 2012, one of the highlights of the convention will be the presentation of the awards by Boehringer Ingelheim. In addition the research done by the recipients related to the different aspects of Pigeon Fever in equines will further the advancement of veterinary medicine world wide.