The Iowa State University (ISU) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) will be hosting the 16^th annual Veterinary Biologics Training Program May 16-20. The training program is designed to educate veterinary professionals about vaccine safety and efficacy.

According to the CVM website, this session will be presented by representatives from the USDA Center for Veterinary Biologics (the group that "regulates veterinary biologics–vaccines, bacterins, antisera, diagnostic kits, and other products of biological origin–to ensure they are pure, safe, potent, and effective"). Attendees will learn how the USDA regulates vaccine licensing and about testing, and about the vaccine production inspection process.

More than 160 veterinary professionals have registered to attend this year’s seminar, which marks a new attendance record, the CVM website said.

Safe and effective vaccines are paramount in the horse health sector, as unvaccinated horses are at much higher risk of contracting potentially deadly diseases such as Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, West Nile virus, tetanus, and rabies. Additional risk-based vaccines–targeting equine influenza, strangles, and Potomac horse fever, for example–can further protect horses from infection with dangerous ailments