About DIN

DIN is a not-for-profit conference and serves as a forum for the presentation of epidemiological investigations, clinical case studies, basic and applied research, and other topics in emerging and current zoonotic and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases. The conference's goal is to increase knowledge and awareness of these diseases within the veterinary, medical, public health, and academic research communities.

Participants include human medical providers, veterinarians, public health professionals, scientists, animal control officers, and others involved in the diagnosis, investigation, prevention, control, and research of zoonoses and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases.

DIN is sponsored by the Texas Department of State Health Services Zoonosis Control Branch and supported by the Texas Health Institute. For more information about zoonoses in Texas, please visit the Zoonosis Control Branch's website.

Dedicated to improving public health through a better understanding

of zoonoses and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases.

72nd Annual James Steele Conference on Diseases in
Nature Transmissible to Humans (DIN)
May 31, 2023 - June 2, 2023
La Quinta Inn & Suites by
Wyndham, San Antonio Riverwalk Hotel

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Click here to view the agenda! Our Keynote Speaker this year is Dr. Jack Gilbert from the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Gilbert will present on "The Human Microbiome in Precision Medicine."

REGISTRATION

Early conference registration has closed. You may still register online at the late registration rate of $425. We will be able to accommodate a small number of late registrants onsite.

You may check in and pick up conference materials on Tuesday, May 30, between 5:30-6:30 pm. The registration desk will be located in the foyer.

Please note the Cancellation & Payment Policy: Cancelled registrations will be refunded, less a $35.00 administrative fee, through May 22, 2023. Sorry, no refunds can be made after May 22, 2023. Registration is a commitment of payment and unpaid registration fees for no-show attendees or cancellations made after May 22, 2023, remain due in full.

LA QUINTA INN & SUITES BY WYNDHAM SAN ANTONIO RIVERWALK HOTEL RESERVATIONS

The conference has reserved a sleeping room block at a discounted nightly rate of $124.00. The room block expired May 8, 2023. However, there may still be room availability. Please contact us so conference staff can assist you.

Parking at La Quinta (rates include in and out privileges):

Daily and overnight self-parking $19.50 + tax

Valet parking $33.00 + tax

CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS

For attendees seeking a certificate of attendance and/or CE credit, the steps below must be completed:

Sign the Participant Sign-in sheets every day; check a.m. and/or p.m. sessions attended.
Complete the Attendance Verification Form and sign it on the first page. Tally the CE hours for presentations attended on the last page. Submit this form to staff at the registration desk after the last presentation attended and prior to leaving the conference; neither CE credit nor a certificate will be issued if this form is not completed.
Complete a conference evaluation by midnight Friday, June 9, 2023. There will be a link to the online survey posted shortly after the conference has concluded. CE credit and/or a certificate of attendance will NOT be issued prior to completion and submission of the conference evaluation.

Veterinarians/Licensed Veterinary Technicians:

The Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners has approved a maximum of 16.5 continuing education hours that can be obtained by a veterinarian or a Licensed Veterinary Technician. Participants may claim a maximum of 16.5 hours in the clinical category.

Animal Control Officers:

16.5 continuing education hours are available for animal control officers to apply toward their Texas Health and Safety Code, Ch. 829, training requirements.

Continuing Medical Education:

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service is accredited by the Texas Medical Association to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service designates this live event for a maximum of 16.50 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing Continuing Professional Development:

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service has awarded 16.50 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development.

Certified Health Education Specialists:

Sponsored by The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service, a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES®) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES®) to receive up to 16.50 total Category I contact education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours available are 16.50.

Certified in Public Health:

Up to 16.50 CPH Recertification Credits may be earned at this event.

Registered Sanitarians:

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service is considered a sponsor of continuing education for Registered Sanitarians according to the Texas Administrative Code Rule §119.27 (d). The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service has awarded 16.50 hours of credit.

Social Workers:

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service, the continuing education provider, ensures that the education provided is directly related to the practice of social work; and that the individuals presenting the information have the necessary experience and knowledge in the topics presented. The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service has awarded 16.50 hours of credit.

Certificate of Attendance:

The Texas Department of State Health Services, Continuing Education Service has designated 16.50 hours for attendance.

2022 Conference

History of DIN

The James Steele Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Humans (formerly known as the Southwest Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man) focuses on zoonoses and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases of interest to health professionals. Participants include include human medical providers, veterinarians, public health professionals, scientists, animal control officers, and others involved in the diagnosis, investigation, and prevention of zoonotic diseases.

The conference serves as a forum for the presentation of research, epidemiological data, and other aspects of emerging and current zoonoses and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases. Papers outlining case studies, outbreak investigations, basic and applied research, and surveillance program reports are presented with the primary theme of the conference being the ecology and epidemiology of these diseases.

The Southwest Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man had its first official meeting on June 2, 1951, but its origin was a decade earlier. In late January of 1941, J.V. Irons, Sidney Bohls, (Associate Director and Director of the Texas Department of Health (TDH) Laboratories) and A. B. Rich (Director of Veterinary Public Health at TDH) put together a seminar in the old Norwood building in downtown Austin. The purpose of this seminar was to provide continuing education in the areas of clinical laboratory techniques and microbiology to local technicians.

The group from the Texas Department of Health continued these seminars throughout 1941, expanding to include speakers from the biology department at the University of Texas. By 1943, the meeting had grown both in size and scope and was given the name Conference on Diseases of Animals Transmissible to Man, and Texas A&M University was added to the list of sponsors.

At that time, Dr. James H. Steele was a veterinarian in the U.S. Public Health Service. Dr. Steele founded the first veterinary public health program at the U.S. Public Health Service, where he served for 26 years. Dr. Irons and Dr. Steele were close associates and good friends. Dr. Irons asked Dr. Steele to deliver many papers at the conference and Dr. Steele worked closely with the organizing committees, suggesting many subject areas to explore.

In 1949, Dr. Irons realized that the conference was getting a wide variety of papers from a growing contingent of researchers, physicians, veterinarians, and laboratorians. He proposed that the name be changed once again to the Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man.

In 1950, the federal government, to increase knowledge and interest in biological warfare, proposed that 4 regional conferences be established as a venue for new and important papers to be given and discussed. Dr. Irons and Dr. Steele agreed that the existing Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man would fit neatly into this niche, and the Southwest Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man was officially born.

In 1973, the conference keynote address was formally named the J.V. Irons Keynote Address to honor Dr. Irons’ contributions to the conference. Dr. Jim Steele was the first J.V. Irons keynote speaker.

From 1951 through 2006, the conference met annually, becoming a premiere conference for the presentation of papers related to the emergence and re-emergence of zoonotic and environmentally-acquired infectious diseases and biological warfare, now referred to as bioterrorism. At the business meeting at the end of the 2006 conference, the membership voted unanimously to change the name of the conference to the James H. Steele Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Humans to honor Dr. Steele’s contributions to veterinary public health and to the creation and continued success of this conference. To see a list of DIN locations throughout the years, click here.

History

James Steele, DVM, MPH

1913-2013

"Animal Health, Human Health, One Health: The Life and Legacy of Dr. James H. Steele"

Dr. Steele received a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Michigan State University in 1941 and a Master of Public Health degree from Harvard University in 1942, the only veterinarian in a class full of physicians. While working in a brucellosis testing laboratory for the Michigan State Department of Agriculture from 1938-41, he became interested in zoonotic diseases.

He founded the first veterinary public health program at the U.S. Public Health Service, where he served for 26 years. In 1963, he received the service’s Meritorious Service Award for his contributions to the field of public health. In 1968 he was named Assistant Surgeon General for Veterinary Affairs.

Dr. Steele was a pioneer in integrating veterinary health into public health agencies such as the Pan American Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Among the many and varied contributions Dr. Steele made during his professional career, perhaps one of the most significant involved the control of food-borne diseases. In particular, Dr. Steele was an advocate of food irradiation, which he believed would prevent E. coli outbreaks, among other illnesses.

In 2006, Dr. Steele received the Abraham Horowitz Award for Leadership in Inter-American Health. This prestigious award from the Pan American Health and Education Foundation recognized Dr. Steele’s life-long contributions to veterinary public health, specifically “zoonotic” diseases that transfer from animals to humans.

Until his death on November 10, 2013, Dr. Steele remained active within his profession as Professor Emeritus, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health. He joined the UT School of Public Health’s Infectious Disease Center in 1971. He is the namesake of the school’s “James H. Steele Lecture” series, which was established to recognize his contributions and leadership in the fields of infectious disease and zoonotic diseases.