This year, the German Research Platform for Zoonoses has planned the German Symposium on Zoonoses Research with its partners from the USA – Heinz Feldmann and Juergen Richt – to coincide with the 7th International Conference on Emerging Zoonoses.

Zoonoses are a global challenge – whether they are new or existing diseases, whether they are viruses, bacteria, parasites or prions, and whether transmitted directly or through vectors. The current outbreaks of MERS and Ebola underline the huge impact zoonoses can have on humanity, with consequences that go far beyond the obvious health concerns. Wellfounded research on zoonoses can make a valuable contribution to a world where people and animals can live long and healthy lives. We have created an agenda that we hope appeals to everyone. This includes interesting keynote speeches and parallel sessions covering a broad spectrum of topics. Zoonotic research encompasses a wide range of fields. And we would like to particularly highlight the keynotes on Thursday morning and Friday afternoon and the Ebola session that has been added in light of current events. Dengue fever, MERS, Ebola and Yersinia enterocolitica are examples of both new and existing zoonoses that underline the challenges facing researchers in this field, both in Germany and around the world.