The World Association for the History of Veterinary Medicine (WAHVM) held its 32nd congress in Oslo, August 15-18, 2001. The congress venue was the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, which is located in the capital-city. The congress was attended by 118 participants originating from 23 different countries. The majority came from Europe, but there were also delegates from Australia, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Mexico, Turkey and the United States.
The Norwegian Society for the History of Veterinary Medicine had thoroughly prepared our stay. On the first evening all the guests were treated with an impressive opening session in the beautiful Ceremony Hall of the school including piano music. After a welcome by Dr. John Kristoffersen, president of the Norwegian Society for the History of Veterinary Medicine, and the President of the WAHVM, Cheiron medals were presented to Dr. Osamu Katsuyama (Japan), Prof. Dr. Jeno Kováts (Hungary) and Past President August Mathijsen (The Netherlands). Also on behalf of the other medallists the latter expressed thanks and presented a first copy of his Bibliography of the Biography and History of Veterinary Medicine on CD-ROM to the President. In his turn the President thanked Mathijsen for all the efforts he put in compiling this bibliography with more than 13,000 references, which can be considered as an important tool in the study of our discipline. Then the lights were dimmed, leaving only a huge tapestry in front of the hall illuminated, depicting the figure of Saint Blasius, protector of animals and the emblem of Norwegian veterinary medicine. Guided by piano music and sober singing, which expressed the suffering of animals, a procession slowly walked to the stage carrying the skeleton of a pony. In the procession was Saint Blasius, who, after having arrived at the stage, addressed the audience and praised the Cheiron medal winners. After that the procession left the hall and the lights went up. The get-together-party was closed with a buffet of traditional Norwegian food and drinks.
The scientific programme included 27 lectures and 16 posters. The lectures were given by 21 veterinarians and by six speakers from other disciplines. In total there were 11 sessions in the programme of which seven were dedicated to the first main theme of the congress: 'The history of control and eradication of epizootic diseases in veterinary medicine'. This main topic was covered by 15 speakers. The first invited speaker was the well-known Dr. Jean Blancou, former director of the OIE in Paris, who spoke about the principles for the spreading of disease agents on a global basis in the past and present. Other invited speakers also presented general introductions to the history of control and eradication of epizootic and zoonotic diseases such as rinderpest, rabies, atrophic rhinitis, pulmonary adenomatosis (jaagsiekte), glanders, anthrax, dourine, tuberculosis, scrapie and BSE. In addition, contributors in these sessions discussed related matters like the spreading of contagious animal diseases by international trade, the history of vaccination and the use of animal drugs. Local studies were presented dealing with the control of epizootic diseases in Romania and the former German Democratic Republic, Dutch and Austrian government policy regarding cattle plague, eradication of bovine pleuro-pneumonia in The Netherlands, the development of veterinary microbiology in Turkey and - a typical Scandinavian topic - reindeer diseases and husbandry in Norway.
The second main theme of the congress was also typical Scandinavian, namely: 'The history of disease control in aquatic animals'. This topic only included one session with two lectures; one about the spread of aquatic animal diseases in international trade and one about the history of fish virology. The third part of the programme consisted of 'Free Communications'. There were three sessions with 10 contributions dealing with various topics. These included three biographies and two about old veterinary manuscripts from England and Northern Nepal. In addition there were papers on the eradication of dourine in Canada, rinderpest in Africa, laminitis of horses in antiquity, and whale hunting in Norway. As final speaker August Mathijsen gave a demonstration of his Bibliography on veterinary history. Overall, the quality of the papers presented was high. In some cases however, there was too much emphasis on technical developments instead of historical aspects.
In the hall outside the auditorium 16 posters were on display of which 8 from Norwegian authors. Among other subjects the posters included a Romanian ichthyopathologist, colour drawings from the Ercolani Museum, Bologna, Italy, surgery in ancient Persia, animal blood group research by a Norwegian pioneer and one about Peter Charles Doherty, the first veterinarian Nobel prize winner. Abstracts from all presentations as well as posters were collected and (colour) printed in a well edited programme and abstract book. The abstracts can be found on the WAHVM homepage at (www.library.vet.uu.nl\~wahvm).
On the first day of the congress the WAHVM Board and Liaison Committee discussed several items and prepared the General Assembly meeting of the following day. During the General Assembly meeting not less than 22 items were discussed. The minutes of the General Assembly Meeting can also be found on the WAHVM homepage. Next years congress will take place at Wittenberg, Germany, August 21-24. The 34th congress will be organised in Mexico City, September 2003.
Thursday evening the participants were welcomed by the Deputy Mayor of Oslo at a reception in the Town Hall. Everybody enjoyed the beautiful interior and rich decoration with art from the 20th century as well as the wonderful view over the Oslo fjord. The congress dinner on Friday evening took place in a very warm atmosphere with piano and violin music, songs and speeches introduced by the 'Toastmaster' and - of course - with poached salmon.
After the closure of the congress on Saturday morning, a very interesting excursion to the Vigeland Sculpture Park, the Kon Tiki and Viking Ship Museums and the Holmenkollen Ski Jump followed. In conclusion it can be stated that this congress was very successful. The local organisers prepared it well and ensured that everything went to plan. All participants and accompanying persons had a fruitful, instructive and enjoyable time.
Peter A. Koolmees
President of the WAHVM