An International Society for Behçet’s Disease (ISBD) meeting on COVID-19, co-hosted by the Imperial Vascular Network and the Imperial Centre of Excellence for Vasculitis Research

COVID has been reported in virtually every country in the world and has particularly affected the elderly and individuals with comorbidities including inflammatory disease. In this webinar we aim to discuss the incidence and effect of COVID infection in patients with Behçet’s Disease (BD). Speakers from across the world will present data from their country and will be followed by an audience participation discussion. It is envisaged that we will investigate whether BD provides protection or susceptibility to COVID, possible effects of drugs, potential mechanisms and issues relating to vaccination.

Agenda

13.00 – Welcome and Introduction – Professors Dorian Haskard and Justin Mason, Imperial College, London.

13.05 – Purpose of the webinar – Dr Graham Wallace, University of Birmingham, UK

13.10 – Professor Phil Robinson, University of Queensland. Australia – COVID and Rheumatic Diseases

13.30  Short talks by: Professor Eun-So Lee, Ajou University, Korea; Professor Yohei Kirino, Yokohama City University Medical Center, Japan; Professor Farhad Shahram Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran; Professor Ahmet Gul, Istanbul Medical University, Turkey; Professor  Petros Sfikakis, National University of Athens, Greece; Professor Michael Schirmer, Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.

14.30 -14.45 Break

14.45 -15.25 – Short talks by: Professor Giacomo Emmi, University of Florence, Italy; Professor Christos Zouboulis, Dessau Medical Center, Germany; Professor Jan van Laar, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam,  The Netherlands; Professor Farida Fortune, Queen Mary’s University of London, UK.

15.25-16.00 – General discussion – hosts Dr Graham Wallace and Professor Jan van Laar -to include do BD patients get COVID, how do they respond, are patients advised to shield, should BD patients be vaccinated.