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RABIES IN THE AMERICAS CONFERENCE IN OTTAWA

OTTAWA, October 17, 2005 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is hosting the XVIth International Symposium on Rabies in the Americas at the Delta Ottawa Hotel from Monday, October 17 to Friday, October 21, 2005.

Rabies still kills over 50,000 people each year in Africa, Asia and South America. Rabies also affects wildlife, pets and farm animals. The Rabies in the Americas symposium (RITA) allows scientists and specialists to share developments in the field of rabies control and research.

The RITA conference attracts up to 250 delegates from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe, including experts from the CFIA’s Centre of Expertise for Rabies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USA), and the Institut Pasteur in France.

Highlights of the conference include:

• the survival by an American teenager of bat rabies after application of a therapeutic coma;
• transmission of rabies though organ transplants; and
• vaccination issues, including the development of oral vaccines for control of rabies in wildlife.

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For more information on RITA please check out the Rabies in the Americas web site at www.rabies-in-the-americas.org or contact:

Susan Nadin-Davis
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Ottawa
(613) 228-6698 ext. 5900

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