The 24th VAM Congress 2012 was held at Marriott Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur from the 21st to 23rd of September 2012, carrying the title ‘One Health: Transforming the Future’. This time, the congress concentrated to promote One Health approach in transforming the future in human and animal health. It provided an opportunity to share information, network and foster future collaboration among all the participants.

Dr Marcelo Paniago, Director Global Technical Services from Ceva Sante Animale, France presented ‘Poultry Zoonotic Diseases and Their Prevention’. He started by bringing up the global concern and how researchers are working hard to catch up with the fast emerging zoonotic diseases. Unfortunately, over the last three decades, approximately 75% of new emerging human infectious diseases have been zoonotic. Thus, the basic concepts for prevention are vaccination and good biosecurity. Finally, Dr Marcelo concluded that Avian Influenza and SE infections are among the major zoonotic diseases and they are closely related to poultry production. In addition to the public health concerns, these diseases can have a tremendous economic impact on the poultry industry and, without a doubt, their prevention demands, among others, strong commitment from producers and proper regulations in the concerned countries.

Let us work together in this collaborative effort to advance the understanding of interactions between humans, animals and the environment.