Emeritus Professor of Microbiology – University of the Free State
PASA is proud to welcome Professor Rob Bragg as a guest speaker at the PASA Expo 2026.
Prof Bragg is an Emeritus Professor of Microbiology at the University of the Free State, where he remains actively involved in academic and scientific work. During a career spanning several decades, he has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific papers and earned international recognition for his work in avian disease control, biosecurity, antimicrobial resistance and disinfectant resistance.
He is widely respected for his practical approach to preventing infectious diseases. Prof Bragg regularly advises agricultural operations and healthcare facilities in countries such as Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, India and Indonesia on the development of effective biosecurity and disease-control programmes.
A central principle of his work is that disease prevention begins by reducing the number of pathogens to which animals and people are exposed. His expertise includes quarantine systems, cleaning and disinfection programmes, drinking-water hygiene, movement control and the correct selection and use of disinfectants.
Prof Bragg emphasises that vaccination and natural immunity have limits. When the level of pathogens in the environment becomes too high, disease may still occur—even in vaccinated animals. Effective biosecurity must therefore reduce the environmental pathogen load and support the animal’s existing immune defences.
Earlier in his career, Prof Bragg and his research teams conducted extensive research into beak and feather disease virus (BFDV), which causes psittacine beak and feather disease. Their work resulted in five peer-reviewed scientific papers examining the occurrence, diagnosis, haemagglutinating activity and genetic diversity of BFDV in South African parrots. This included identifying a unique BFDV genotype in budgerigars.
His team also developed a yeast-based recombinant expression system for the BFDV capsid protein. This research formed the basis for developing a competitive ELISA to detect antibodies against BFDV and led to an experimental vaccination study in cage birds.
Prof Bragg’s Presentations at PASA Expo 2026
Biosecurity in Parrot Breeding
Prof Bragg will provide a practical examination of how infectious diseases enter and spread through parrot-breeding collections.
His presentation will address:
-
- Quarantine procedures
-
- Auctions and the movement of birds
-
- Apparently healthy carrier birds
-
- Cleaning and disinfection
-
- Drinking-water hygiene
-
- The continual suppression of environmental pathogens
He will explain why reducing pathogen load is one of the most important principles of disease prevention and share practical measures breeders can implement to protect their collections.
Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease
Prof Bragg will also present an overview of BFDV and the considerable challenge it poses to parrot breeders.
The presentation will examine:
-
- Transmission and environmental persistence
-
- Apparently healthy carriers
-
- The influence of stress on disease expression
-
- Diagnostic testing
-
- Effective quarantine
-
- Research into South African BFDV strains
-
- Antibody detection and experimental vaccine research
Do not miss this opportunity to hear from an internationally recognised biosecurity specialist and experienced avian-disease researcher. Prof Bragg will show how sound scientific principles can be translated into practical disease-control measures that breeders can apply in their own aviaries.