Veterinarians and Pet Owners Urged to act Upon Evolving Dangers Posed by CVBDs

Experts Call for Change in Attitude and Practice During Meeting to Discuss Latest Developments in Canine Vector Borne Disease Management

MONHEIM, Germany, April 11, 2011 - Leading experts from around the world came together today to share their
latest research findings at the 6th Canine Vector Borne Disease (CVBD) forum
in Nice, France and call for greater awareness of the dangers posed to
animals and humans by these increasingly important diseases. "A number of the
CVBDs cause real suffering and even death in dogs, and many represent a
zoonotic risk. It's vital that veterinarians and pet owners everywhere
understand the seriousness of the threats posed, and take action to prevent
transmission of these diseases", said Prof. Dwight Bowman of the College of
Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, USA.

"Data presented here highlight the underestimation and underreporting of
serious diseases such as Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE), despite their
potential to threaten the life of infected animals", according to Prof.
Martin Pfeffer of the Institute of Animal Hygiene and Veterinary Public
Health, Germany. "Like many of the CVBDs, TBE has spread beyond its
traditional home and is being found across Europe and Asia, exposing
previously unaffected populations to this serious disease. In light of the
increasing geographical spread of diseases like TBE, veterinarians should
ensure all dogs are protected from the threat of CVBD transmission and should
consider even 'exotic' or 'rare' diseases when diagnosing sick animals".

This theme was taken up by Prof. Luis Cardoso of the Department of
Veterinary Sciences at the University of Tras-os-Montes e Alto Douro,
Portugal, whose group reported the first cases of clinical babesiosis by
Babesia microti-like piroplasm outside Spain. "This finding is important as
this form of babesiosis is previously unknown in Portugal and we found not
just two infected adults with a history of travel to endemic areas, but also
infection in a puppy with no history of travel outside the country. This
suggests that either the disease is capable of being transmitted from mother
to pup or that there is now a reservoir of infection in Portugal".

Further evidence of the changing face of CVBD management came from Dr
Filipe Dantas-Torres of the Department of Veterinary Public Health at the
University of Bari, Italy, who presented data suggesting that the common
Brown Dog tick (Rhicephalus sanguineus) has the potential to be involved in
the epidemiology of leishmaniosis, a disease that can prove fatal to dogs and
humans. Dr Dantas-Torres explained, "If our hypothesis is confirmed, we would
in a next step investigate whether ticks could also transmit Leishmania
infantum to dogs which would dramatically increase the geographical reach of
leishmaniosis. Currently however, only sand flies are proven biological
vectors of the Leishmania parasites".

According to Prof. Domenico Otranto of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
(Universita degli Studi di Bari) Italy, "These findings reinforce the message
that tick bite and sand fly prevention through a repellent parasiticide is a
must for all dogs travelling to CVBD endemic areas. Not just because of the
threat posed to the animal itself, but also to prevent the CVBD pathogens
establishing in new, non-endemic areas and spreading via blood-sucking
parasites".

Many of the discoveries presented at this year's meeting were made
possible due to major advances in the field of molecular biology and
genomics. In his keynote address, Prof. Robin Gasser from the Faculty of
Veterinary Science of The University of Melbourne, took an evolutionary
perspective and explained how the discovery of DNA, the development of
nucleic sequencing and the initiation of large-scale biological and
biomedical research, have driven changes in veterinary medicine, particularly
over the last decade. Prof. Gasser spoke of challenges and of the major
impact that next-generation sequencing and bioinformatic technologies are
having in many fundamental and applied areas of infectious diseases, as they
become more accessible. "These 'omic technologies will completely change the
way we study CVBDs and will substantially deepen our understanding of
parasites, vectors and host relationships, pathogenesis, epidemiology and
ecology at the molecular level. These fundamental insights will underpin the
design of radically new interventions and management strategies against these
important diseases into the future".

In this context, Dr Xavier Roura of the Hospital Clinic Veterinari of the
Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Spain, presented promising new
applications of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostics at the meeting
and emphasized the value of these new techniques; "The advent of Real Time
PCR means that it is now possible to track disease development through
reliable quantitative results. Veterinarians need to be aware of these new
advances in diagnostics that make identification of CVBDs more accessible and
accurate and take action to ensure that they take advantage of their benefits
to improve prognosis and treatment decisions".

The CVBD World Forum is supported by Bayer Animal Health as part of its
ongoing commitment to advancing research into CVBDs worldwide. "We are
committed to advancing the scientific understanding of CVBDs by bringing
together the latest researchers from around the world in this unique forum -
we are proud to have played our part in ensuring the next chapter in global
CVDB management and prevention is written in 2011", said Maria de Lourdes
Mottier, Global Veterinary Services Manager, Bayer Animal Health.

Further information on the diseases discussed in this release can be
found along with video interviews with key speakers from the 6th CVDB Forum
at www.cvbd.org.

Live updates made during the forum are available at
www.cvbd.org/5640.0.html

About Bayer HealthCare AG

The Bayer Group is a global enterprise with core competencies in the
fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer HealthCare, a
subgroup of Bayer AG with annual sales of more than EUR 16.913 billion
(2010), is one of the world's leading, innovative companies in the healthcare
and medical products industry and is based in Leverkusen, Germany. The
company combines the global activities of the Animal Health, Consumer Care,
Medical Care and Pharmaceuticals divisions. Bayer HealthCare's aim is to
discover and manufacture products that will improve human and animal health
worldwide. Bayer HealthCare has a global workforce of 55.700 employees and is
represented in more than 100 countries. Find more information at
www.bayerhealthcare.com.

With a turnover of EUR 1.120 million (2010) Bayer HealthCare's Animal
Health Division is one of the world's leading manufacturers of veterinary
drugs. The division manufactures and markets more than 100 different
veterinary drugs and care products for livestock and companion animals.

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Contact:

Kathrin Statz, +49-2173-384019

Kathrin.statz@bayerhealthcare.com

Contact: Kathrin Statz, +49-2173-384019, Kathrin.statz at bayerhealthcare.com