Welcome to IPVS & ESPHM ( 2024 )

Dear Colleagues & Friends around the world working with and for pigs,

With deep honor and great pleasure, I would like to welcome you to the 27th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress as a joint event together with the 15th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management to be held in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, between 04th-07th of June, 2024. Together this will be the world’s greatest and most prestigious event for the global pig community.

We are happy & grateful that you, working with pigs in whatever field, decided to join us here in Leipzig!

This welcome letter is on behalf of the International Pig Veterinary Society, the European College of Porcine Health Management, the Veterinary Practitioner Council and the Local Organizing Committee.

The Local Organizing Committee was purposely assembled to best reflect the German pig community which included members of Universities, the German Veterinary Society, the German Practitioner Council, as well as people working in the pharmaceutical, breeding and slaughter/food processing business that all were highly dedicated to help making this event memorable. An ambassador (USA) helped with international affairs. With the Leipzig Trade Fair (Germany) and VET International (Italy), the event had, and still have, highly professional partners aside to shelter and run this IPVS Congress/ESPHM 2024 successfully to our full convenience and satisfaction.

Everybody who works with pigs faces increasing challenges that are more or less severe, good and bad. All the more, this event, which is OUR event, provides unique opportunities to exchange opinions, experiences, teach and learn from each other in a broad variety of traditional and more recent fields of pig health and production!

An overwhelming number of 1015 submissions were received from which 921 were selected and finally agreed to be presented by submitting authors, either as an oral presentation or a flash, chaired or ordinary posters! Also, 16 keynotes speakers agreed to share their opinion on a total of eight highly relevant topics. Last but not least: It is a tradition for IPVS congresses to have a Tom Alexander Memorial Lecture to acknowledge and remember Tom Alexander’s contribution to pig medicine. It is our honor that Prof. Jeffrey Zimmerman from Iowa State University (USA) agreed to give this lecture!

The success of this event is warranted by YOU! You, who submitted an abstract and agreed to share your scientific results with the rest of the world! You, who agreed to give a keynote lecture! You, who agreed to voluntarily serve as a reviewer! You, who voluntarily agreed to serve as a chair person! You, who agreed to sponsor, and without your effort, such an event would not be possible!

A particular thanks goes to the scientific committee with members from all over the world, and especially to the chair, Dr. Carl Andreas Grøntvedt (Norway), and to his co-chair, Prof. Mari Heinonen (Finland), who worked “around the clock” until this terrific scientific program was “sound” and ”ready to go”!

We are convinced that, when you are back home, you will remember the 27th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress/ 15th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management as one of the best scientific events you have ever attended. And please also remember the City of Leipzig, the State of Saxony and the Country of Germany as a place worth visiting again!

On behalf of everybody that made the 27th International Pig Veterinary Society Congress/ 15th European Symposium of Porcine Health Management, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany, 04th-07th of June, 2024, a memorable highlight!

Yours sincerely,

Johannes Kauffold,

IPVS & ESPHM 2024 Congress President