Profs Sophie St-Hilaire, Dirk Pfeiffer, and Michael Reichel from the Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences visited the Shenzhen Aquatic Animal Diseases Laboratory run by the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of the People’s Republic of China (SZCIQ). The visit was arranged by Dr Thomas Sit from Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD).
The visitors, accompanied by Dr. Sit and two of his colleagues from AFCD, were hosted by Dr Liu Hong, Director of the OIE Reference Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Diseases, and also met with the Director Prof. Liqi Xie and several Deputy Directors.
They were given a tour of the various facilities, including the aquatic laboratory, and the food and animal feed testing laboratories, which are all impressively well equipped.
Various possibilities for collaborative opportunities in the areas of aquatic animal disease research and field epidemiology were discussed and will be further explored.
The visit concluded with a lunch hosted by Prof. Xie.