OneBAT Training on Bat Sanitary Surveillance

20th-21st May 2026

20th May, 14:00 – 18:30 (CET)
21st May, 09:00 – 16:00 (CET)

Via VIII Febbraio, 15, Padova (Italy)
Palazzo Pedrocchi, Sala Rossini

About the Training

The OneBAT Consortium was pleased to organise the OneBAT Training on Bat Sanitary Surveillance, which took place in Padova, Italy, on 20–21 May 2026.

This two-day theoretical training provided participants with a comprehensive overview of active bat surveillance. The programme covered key topics including emerging bat-related pathogens, methodological approaches developed within the project, as well as practical constraints, ethical considerations, and legal frameworks. Particular attention was given to the scientific foundations of the OneBAT project and the results achieved so far, alongside the objectives guiding its next phases.

In addition to the core sessions, the training included a dedicated networking component, offering participants the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experiences with experts involved in related international initiatives. These interactions fostered collaboration and broadened perspectives on bat surveillance practices across different regions and contexts.

The training was primarily addressed to doctoral and postdoctoral researchers working in bat and wildlife surveillance, as well as representatives of European Union National Reference Laboratories interested in strengthening their expertise in active surveillance approaches.

Save the Date!

This event represents the first of two trainings planned within the project, with a second, more practice-oriented session to be hosted later in France.

In the preceding days (19–20 May 2026), the same venue in Padova hosted the NRLs for Rabies Workshop, organised by the European Union Reference Laboratories for Rabies. Although colocated, the two initiatives are separate events.

Pictures of the event

Location

The training took take place at Palazzo Pedrocchi, Sala Rossini, located in Via VIII Febbraio, 15, Padova (Italy) đź“Ť

Sala Rossini, also known as the Napoleonic Hall, is the central and most prestigious room of the Piano Nobile of the historic Caffè Pedrocchi. Designed in elegant Empire style, it is richly decorated with musical-themed stuccoes and refined drapery, reflecting its cultural and historical significance. Inaugurated in 1842, the hall has long hosted conferences, ceremonies, and cultural events, making it one of Padua’s most iconic and representative venues.

Networking & Clustering

The PANDASIA, ZOOSURSY and BCOMING projects joined the OneBAT Training Event as part of the ongoing networking and clustering activities established with OneBAT. Each project was represented by a consortium member who introduced the project, outlined its main objectives, and presented its core research focus. The presentations also highlighted key areas of synergy, shared challenges, and potential collaboration opportunities with OneBAT, fostering knowledge exchange and strengthening links between projects working on related topics within the broader One Health and infectious disease research landscape.
ZOOSURSY

ZOOSURSY is an EU-funded project focused on improving the surveillance, early detection, and understanding of zoonotic diseases at the human–animal–environment interface. By strengthening research capacity, diagnostics, and policy collaboration through a One Health approach, the project aims to enhance outbreak preparedness, protect biodiversity, and support more resilient public and animal health systems.

PANDASIA (“Pandemic Literacy and Viral Zoonotic Spillover Risk at the Frontline of Disease Emergence in Southeast Asia to Improve Pandemic Preparedness”) is co-funded by the EU and UK Research and Innovation. It aims to collect social and biological data, model zoonotic spillover risks, and study disease emergence in high-risk settings in Thailand to better understand pandemic drivers across nature–rural–urban gradients.

BCOMING (“Innovating to protect biodiversity and to thereby reduce infectious disease outbreaks”) is a Horizon Europe project led by Julien Cappelle, disease ecologist at CIRAD, who, in partnership with the PREZODE initiative and strong scientific project partners, will concentrate their efforts in areas where biodiversity hotspots are declining due to human activity,
in order to understand, prevent and react to future pandemics.

Padova city

Training Agenda

20th May 2026 | Day 1

12:30 – 14:00 > Welcoming light lunch

14:00 – 14:20 > The OneBAT project at a glance | Paola De Benedictis, OneBAT Project Coordinator (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie)

14:20 – 14:40 > Ecology of bat viruses | Stefania Leopardi (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie)

14:40 – 15:00 > Lyssaviruses in Europe | Emmanuelle Robardet (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail)

15:00 – 15:30 > Balancing Science and Welfare: Protection of Bats in the OneBat Project under Directive 2010/63/EU | Franco Mutinelli (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie)

15:30 – 16:00 > Coffee break

16:00 – 16:30 > The IUCN SSC Bat Specialist Group Guidelines for Field Hygiene : Origins, challenges, and adoption | Julie Shapiro (Agence Nationale de la Sécurité Sanitaire de l'Alimentation, de l'Environnement et du Travail)

16:30 – 17:00 > CACCHI platform: bat capture training and permit delivery in France | Julie Marmet (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle)

17:00 – 18:30 > Networking session

20:00 / 20:30 > Social dinner

21st May 2026 | Day 2

09:00 – 09:30 > Networking & Clustering, Project presentations – Seasonal Structuring of Bat Communities at a Transboundary Human–Wildlife Interface in Eastern Thailand | Aingorn Chaiyes  (Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Pandasia Project)

09:30 – 10:00 > Networking & Clustering, Project presentations – From Bat Ecology to Disease Prevention: Lessons from EBO-SURSY and BCOMING, and Perspectives from ZOOSURSY | Morgane Labadie (CIRAD, Zoosursy Project & Bcoming Project)

10:00 – 10:20 > Bats capture & sampling | Tamas Görföl (University of Pécs | International Centre)

10:20 – 10:50 > Recent advances and remaining challenges in pathogen and antibody detection in bats | Laurent Dacheux (Institut Pasteur)

10:50 – 11:10 > Coffee break

11:10 – 11:30 > Serological analysis | Simon Scott (University of Kent)

11:30 – 11:50 > Epidemiological modelling of bat pathogen transmission | Pierre Nouvellet (University of Sussex)

11:50 – 12:00/12:10 > Working groups | Explanation of the work to be done

12:15 – 13:15 > Light lunch break (start the working session in groups)

13:15 – 15:15 > Working groups

15:15 – 16:15 > Presentation of the work

16:15 – 16:30 > Closing remarks

Organized by:

ANSES

Contacts

> Emmanuelle Robardet (ANSES): emmanuelle.robardet@anses.fr

> Andrea Spotti (beWarrant – TInexta Innovation Hub): andrea.spotti@tinextainnovationhub.com

> Paola De Benedictis (IZSVe): pdebenedictis@izsvenezie.it

> Stefania Leopardi (IZSVe): sleopardi@izsvenezie.it