REPORT ON THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON RANAVIRUSES 2017

Ranaviruses are large, dsDNA viruses in the family Iridoviridae. They are important pathogens in fish, amphibians, and reptiles, and have caused severe disease outbreaks in captive and wild animals. Ranaviruses have been associated with population declines in amphibians in various parts of the world. The Global Ranavirus Consortium (GRC, www.ranavirus.org) was created to help address the threat posed by these viruses by helping coordinate research among scientists, disseminating information, and offering training opportunities. An international symposium on ranaviruses has been organized biannually since 2011 (Lesbarrères et al., 2012).From 7 to 10 June 2017, Budapest welcomed the 4th International Symposium on Ranaviruses (4th ISR). The symposium (56 participants, 12 countries) followed the 10th International Symposium on Viruses of Lower Vertebrates (ISVLV; 94 participants, 20 countries), with the two symposia sharing sessions on the 7th of June. The ranavirus symposium was sponsored by the GRC, the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV), the Veterinary Faculty of the University of Budapest, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Science Foundation (NSF), Laboklin GmbH & Co. KG, Germany, and Biocenter Laboratory Hungary.During the 4th ISR, thirty-four (34) scientific presentations were held on ranaviruses (29) or Iridoviridae in general (5), and 16 ranavirus posters were presented (https://www.ranavirus.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ISR2017_Budapest_AbstractBook.pdf). Other activities included an update on the progress made by the GRC; a panel discussion on iridovirus taxonomy; regional meetings and thematic breakout groups; and a workshop familiarizing participants with the Global Ranavirus Reporting System (GRRS) (https://mantle.io/grrs) (Brunner, 2017). After the scientific sessions, participants could attend field trips visiting local areas of reptilian and amphibian conservation efforts (Fig. 1).The work presented by the authors will be published elsewhere. Here, based on the studies presented, we highlight some of the progress made since the previous symposium, and summarize future gaps in knowledge the GRC intends to address.