The ECVO Congress was held in the city of Barcelona, a beautiful and cosmopolitan city in the northwest corner of Spain with a lot to offer, from the architecture of Gaudí to gastronomy, to a beautiful outdoors bathed by the Mediterranean Sea. This was the second time the ECVO Congress was hosted in Barcelona, with the first meeting held in the city in 2001, twelve years earlier.
This was a very special year for the European College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists, as it celebrated its 20th anniversary.
The number of delegates reached a record high at the time with just over 300 people that travelled from across the globe and represented a total of 29 countries distributed through Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America.
The Continuing Education day focused on Ocular Immunology with outstanding guest speakers. The Master lecture was one of the principle highlights of the day and was given by Yan Guex-Crosier talking about updates on the management of intraocular inflammation. This was followed by 79 scientific abstracts covering various aspects of clinical and research interest. The program came to an end with the Master Classes on ocular immune privilege, ocular immunosuppressive factors, pathology of immune-mediated ocular diseases and pathophysiology of ERU.
The social events reached a historical maximum to date for the ECVO Congress, not surprisingly, given the fantastic locations chosen in the beautiful city of Barcelona. There were a total of 202 people attending the Welcome Reception at the Caixa Forum, which is housed in the building that once served a textile factory, a tribute to one of the region’s economic pillars. This fantastic trip down memory lane included an insight into the very rich and very beautiful local architecture and a view into the development of the film industry. All that attended had the opportunity to toast to the 20th Anniversary of the ECVO with some of Catalonia’s best Cava.Last but not least, the Conference Gala Dinner, gathered a total of151 peopleat the….
As usual, a special recognition is extended to the local hosts Teresa Peña and Marta Leiva for the social program and to Charlotte Keller and the rest of the ECVO Scientific Committee for another year of high quality content in the scientific program.
The ECVO Research Grants for 2013 were awarded to:
1. Leiva M et al. ‘Morphologic distribution on corneal nerves in birds of prey’
2. Nell B and Krecny M. ‘Investigation on the tear film in Pugs’
The Resident Presentation and Best Poster Awardsof 2013 were for:
Best Resident Presentation (sponsored by Animal Necessity): KatrinVoelter-Ratson for ‘Evaluation of the conjunctival flora and its susceptibility to antifungal agents in healthy horses in Switzerland’ (study supported by ECVO Research Grant 2012)
Best Poster Award (sponsored by the ECVO): Sabine Sahr for ’Comparative computed tomography anatomy of the lacrimal drainage system in brachycephalic dog breeds’.
The ECVO welcomed a total of 6 new diplomates, to the College during its AGM. Five had recently passed their Board Exams and included Barbara Braus, Jim Carter, Marian Matas, Michael Rhodes and Johanna Premont. The sixth new diplomate was Richard McMullen DACVO, bringing the total number of diplomats in 2013 to 87 (84 active and three retired diplomates).
Rick F Sanchez DipECVO
Chair of the Communication Committee (2010 – 2013)