site.btaPlovdiv Hosts Second International Veterinary Medical Congress

Joint decisions and actions are needed to tackle epizootic challenges, Deputy Agriculture Minister Krum Nedyalkov said, speaking at the opening Thursday of the Second International Veterinary Medical Congress in the southern city of Plovdiv. The congress is jointly organized by the Bulgarian Veterinary Union and the Veterinary Chamber of the Republic of North Macedonia. 

In recent years, EU countries – and Bulgaria in particular as an external border, have been facing a number of serious epizootic challenges, said Nedyalkov and listed bluetongue, contagious pustular dermatitis (orf), highly pathogenic avian influenza, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and African swine fever.

"A common approach and joint action is called for in unison with the ‘One health’ approach for the benefit of animal and public health," Nedyalkov said.

The participants in the forum were also wished success in their work by the Chairman of the Bulgarian Veterinary Union, Dr. Trifon Tsvetkov, and Dr. Zharko Mihailovski, President of the Veterinary Chamber of the Republic of North Macedonia.

 A congratulatory address by President Rumen Radev to the congress was also read, underscoring that the increasingly closer cooperation of specialists in the field in the two countries will be an important step towards a more effective fight against animal diseases in the Balkans. 

The programme of the three-day forum also includes papers by speakers from both countries on practical approaches to assessing and improving animal welfare, ways to carry out orthopedic examinations, and climate change and its impact on bee populations and diseases.