Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 18 (1993) 1 1 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam

Introduction

I am pleased to write an introduction to this special issue of Preventive Vet- erinary Medicine containing the plenary addresses from the 6th ISVEE Sym- posium held in Ottawa, Canada, 12-16 August 1991. By all accounts the meeting was a resounding success, and these plenary addresses contributed, significantly, to that success. In the business meeting of the 6th Symposium, it was mentioned that the Society is 'coming of age', and I believe these plen- ary addresses are testimony to that maturity.

These papers have been reviewed, from a scientific viewpoint, by two in- dividuals, Dr. Mike Thrusfield and Dr. Arie Brand. To them, I offer our thanks for their time and effort; their comments and suggestions were extremely helpful. Additionally, Dr. Hollis Erb spent considerable time reviewing and commenting on the papers. The suggested changes were incorporated, with- out going back to the authors, largely through the tireless efforts of Ms. Eliz- abeth Crossey. To Hollis and Elizabeth, our appreciation. Finally, I cannot escape congratulating the seven plenary speakers other than myself. These are a talented group of individuals; the Society remains indebted to them.

In the closing session of the 5th ISVEE Symposium in Copenhagen, a panel discussion was held on the topic of 'The Future of Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics'. Certainly, that discussion played an important role in shap- ing the 6th ISVEE Symposium. Over the past decade, it is clear that epidem- iologic methods and concepts are being integrated into the day-to-day work of both public (government and nongovernment organizations) and private veterinarians. The tremendous impact of nonveterinarians in the areas of vet- erinary epidemiology and economics is also acknowledged. Although they are difficult to quantify, the benefits to humans of this new acceptance of these two disciplines are immense--I suppose one could view quantifying this as our next challenge. If our ultimate client is humankind, then hopefully all animals, including humans, are the recipients, however indirect, of the bene- fits of our work. I trust that the reader will find these plenary addresses both stimulating and helpful, and will encourage ongoing support of ISVEE in the future.

Wayne Martin Chairman ISVEE