September 18, 2006
For immediate release

Public Health Agency of Canada - International Centre for Infectious Diseases

News Release

Winnipeg Hosts International Experts on Deadly Viruses: Filovirus Symposium puts Ebola and Marburg 'Under the Microscope'

WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Thirty years following the discovery of Ebola, the world's leading experts in the field are gathering in Winnipeg from September 17-19 to explore the latest research on the virus and its equally lethal cousin, the Marburg virus.

The Ebola and Marburg viruses make up the filovirus family, so called due to their string-like filament shape. The Filoviruses: Recent Advances and Future Challenges Symposium has been organized by the Public Health Agency of Canada and the International Centre for Infectious Diseases to provide an opportunity for scientists to share their latest findings and advance their collective knowledge.

With only about 15 labs around the world where researchers can safely work with live filoviruses, including the Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, these scientists form an elite group. The over 160 participants have come from all around the globe and include representatives from organizations such as the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases.

"There have been many scientific advances with these viruses recently," said Dr. Heinz Feldmann, the Public Health Agency of Canada's Chief of Special Pathogens at the National Microbiology Lab and Chair of the symposium. "But there is a lot more still to learn. Being able to discuss and debate new information helps us to move science forward; we have brought together an incredible amount of expertise to do that here."

The National Microbiology Laboratory can diagnose Ebola, Marburg and similar diseases and also helps to stop outbreaks where they start. Canadian scientists, including Dr. Feldmann and his Winnipeg-based colleagues, were involved in managing the most recent outbreak of Marburg that occurred in Angola last year. That outbreak had a case fatality rate of approximately 90 per cent. While filoviruses are not naturally occurring in North America, it is part of Canada's commitment to global health to be active in the study, management and prevention of infectious diseases of all kinds. Dr. Feldmann and his collaborators have been heralded for their promising breakthroughs in developing vaccines against Marburg and Ebola.

The International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), for its part, is a Winnipeg-based not for profit organization with a mandate to advance Canada's infectious diseases capacity and facilitate the sharing of Canadian disease expertise globally. ICID served as the manager for the Filovirus Symposium, assisting scientists in the planning, promotion and financing of the event. "It is a testament to the place Winnipeg and Canada occupy in the infectious diseases field internationally that this event is being held here," commented Terry Duguid, President and CEO of the ICID. "We are pleased to have helped in the effort."

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Media Inquiries:

Kelly Keith
Public Health Agency of Canada
(204) 789-5028

Adrian Wortley
International Centre for Infectious Diseases
(204) 946-0921