BAVBD Members at the Annual Meeting of the Bulgarian Association of Microbiologists
10- 12. October 2025, Sofia, Bulgaria
The Balkan Association for Vector-Borne Diseases (BAVBD) was honored to take part in the annual scientific meeting of the Bulgarian Association of Microbiologists, an event dedicated to advancing infectious disease science and laboratory excellence across the region.
Since its founding, the Bulgarian Association of Microbiologists has set ambitious goals:
to elevate the professional and social significance of microbiological sciences;
to ensure high standards of laboratory quality management in line with modern international benchmarks;
and to foster a strong scientific foundation supporting effective regulation and quality assurance.
Over the years, these objectives have led to significant progress, with the association playing a central role in shaping the national response to infectious disease threats, from brucellosis and anthrax to emerging zoonoses such as West Nile Fever and Zika virus.
This year’s meeting once again brought together leading experts in microbiology, epidemiology, and public health from Bulgaria and neighboring countries. The BAVBD delegation contributed with presentations that emphasized the regional dimension of vector-borne and zoonotic disease surveillance and control on session hosted by Iva Christova.
Lectures and Topics
Eleftherios Meletis — Enhancing Epidemic Preparedness: An Early Warning Framework for Infection Surveillance
Pavle Banovic — Neglected and Emerging Tick-Borne Pathogens in Serbia: Are They a Public Health Concern?
Dejan Jakimovski — Revealing the Burden of Tick-Borne Diseases in North Macedonia
M. Madai — Hantaviruses in Hungary: A Decade of Ecological, Diagnostic, and Clinical Insights
Gábor Kemenesi — Beyond Biosafety: Comparative Legal Frameworks in the BAVBD Countries
Anastasia Diakou — Bridging Human and Animal Health: The Rising Concern of Dirofilaria Infections
Gábor Kemenesi — Introduction to the SENTINEL Project and Its Role in Faster and Better Detection of CCHFV in the Balkans
The active participation of BAVBD members underlined the importance of cross-border collaboration in understanding, preventing, and responding to infectious disease threats — a vision that both associations share and continue to promote across the Balkan region.
