Vector-borne and zoonosis viruses
Tracks
Meeting Room 1.40
| Tuesday, July 1, 2025 |
| 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM |
Overview
Speaker: Prof Wolfgang Preiser
Speaker
Prof Wolfgang Preiser
Stellenbosch University / NHLS Tygerberg
Vector-borne and zoonotic viruses
Abstract
A number of viral infections can be acquired through exposure to animals (zoonotic) or through arthropods (insects or ticks, vector-borne). If these pathogens are transmissible from human to human, such cases have implications for infection prevention and control. Examples include CCHF which occurs throughout much of Africa, Asia and Europe, is acquired through tick bites or exposure to infected animal tissues, and can cause blood-borne nosocomial outbreaks; and MERS which occurs in the Middle East, is acquired from dromedary camels, and can be transmitted between humans through the respiratory route.
Many of these infections occur sporadically and it often takes a while until the correct diagnosis is made. During this period, an unrecognised and improperly managed patient can turn into the index case of an outbreak. Appropriate management requires striking the right balance between caution (in case the patient does indeed have a severe transmissible infection) and practicality (they are more likely to be suffering from something else, which often requires specific management). Applying sensible universal precautions and being aware are both key to minimising such risks.
Many of these infections occur sporadically and it often takes a while until the correct diagnosis is made. During this period, an unrecognised and improperly managed patient can turn into the index case of an outbreak. Appropriate management requires striking the right balance between caution (in case the patient does indeed have a severe transmissible infection) and practicality (they are more likely to be suffering from something else, which often requires specific management). Applying sensible universal precautions and being aware are both key to minimising such risks.
Biography
Professor Wolfgang Preiser heads the Division of Medical Virology at the University of Stellenbosch. This includes a large SANAS-accredited diagnostic laboratory under the South African National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) in Tygerberg, Cape Town.
Having graduated as a medical doctor, Preiser specialised in medical virology in his hometown of Frankfurt, Germany, and at University College London.
His research interests cover three broad themes: improving and advancing diagnostic virology; the epidemiology, diagnosis, and monitoring of opportunistic viral infections; and emerging and potentially zoonotic viral diseases.
During the SARS outbreak in 2003, he contributed to isolating and characterising the causative novel coronavirus. Later, his research group in Tygerberg identified a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus in South African bats and defined zoonotic hepatitis E virus infection as a significant health issue in South Africa. As a member of the Network for Genomic Surveillance in South Africa, Virology Stellenbosch played an important role during the Covid pandemic. He is a founding member of the Stellenbosch University Public Square with the theme “One Health approach to find solutions for infectious diseases under conditions of rapid environmental change”.
