“Ranaviruses: An emerging threat to ectothermic vertebrates” Report of the First International Symposium on Ranaviruses, Minneapolis MN July 8, 2011

► First symposium focused on fundamental and applied aspects of ranavirus disease in fish, reptiles and amphibians. ► Presentations by 23 scientists (9 countries) covering the ecology, pathology, virology, and immunology of ranavirus disease. ► Evidence of ranavirus host shifts among fish, reptiles, and amphibians. ► Creation of a Global Ranavirus Consortium to stimulate interaction among researchers and provide updated information. This is a report of the First International Symposium on Ranaviruses held on July 8, 2011 in conjunction with the annual Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (JMIH) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The emerging threat of ranavirus infectious diseases to the global biodiversity of ectothermic vertebrates was addressed by 23 scientists from nine countries with expertise in ecology, pathology, virology, veterinary medicine and immunology.