Keynote Speaker:

Edward Breitschwerdt

Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM, DACVIM of the Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory and the Vector Borne Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Breitschwerdt is a co-founder of Galaxy Diagnostics, a CLIA certified laboratory which provides diagnostic support for Bartonella, Borrelia, and many other vector-transmitted diseases. For more than 30 years, Dr. Breitschwerdt has focused on Bartonella infections in humans and animals and has contributed to the publication of more than 250 articles on the topic.

"Our clinical understanding of the long term health consequences of infection with these bacteria remains essentially unexplored. As Bartonella can invade numerous types of cells in the body and can effectively evade the host immune response, its role in chronic debilitating cardiovascular, neurological, and rheumatological diseases remains essentially unexplored."