RITA 2013 - My experiences

RITA or Rabies in the Americas is an annual conference for physicians, researchers, veterinarians, wildlife biologists, rabies program managers, and others interested in rabies to share experiences and discuss challenges. This year's conference was held in Toronto, Canada.

"As it was my first visit to Toronto for an international conference, I had my apprehensions. However, I was welcomed by the GARC team.

The conference RITA was well organized. Initially, I was supposed to give a poster presentation of my work, but on reaching Toronto I was given the privilege to give an oral presentation and express my views.

I had the opportunity to meet eminent people working in the field of Rabies and each day was a learning experience. I was given an insight into the whole world of rabies prevention and the great amount of research being done towards making the world free from this deadly yet preventable disease.

It was interesting to see how the effective collaboration between veterinarians, physicians, public health and other state and independent organisations work together towards a common goal. Low and middle income countries, like India, can learn a lot by adopting similar initiatives.

I was impressed by the work done by GARC in the field. I hope to be incorporating what I learned to work more efficiently. I am thankful to GARC for facilitating this amazing opportunity and to Battelle for their generous donation, which made it possible."

Submitted by Jessy Joseph, winner of the Student Support Award to attend RITA 2013 in Toronto.