Four postgraduate students, supervised by Prof Sonja Matthee in the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology and co-supervised by Prof Conrad Matthee (Department of Botany and Zoology), recently attended the 5th International Congress on Parasites of Wildlife (ICPOW), held in Kruger National Park from 14–18 September 2025. The conference was attended by 138 delegates representing several South African, African, and international research and tertiary institutions.

Ms Inge Raubenheimer (PhD) presented results from her recently completed MSc project on the parasites associated with Smith’s bush squirrel in South Africa. She received the award for Best First-time Poster Presenter (poster title: Mitochondrial DNA phylogeography of a species-specific sucking louse, Johnsonpthirus heliosciuri, as a proxy to provide insights into the population connectivity of its host, Smith’s bush squirrels, Paraxerus cepapi) and was runner-up for Best First-time Oral Presenter (presentation title: Ectoparasites and gastrointestinal helminths associated with Smith’s bush squirrel (Paraxerus cepapi) in South Africa).

Mr Ernst Sclemmer (MSc) was runner-up for Best First-time Poster Presenter for his poster on a New species of Gastronodus Singh, 1934 (Nematoda: Spirocercidae) discovered in a South African rodent.

Ms Lola Singo (MSc) was awarded 2nd runner-up for Best First-time Oral Presenter for her presentation on the Diversity and distribution of ectoparasites associated with Rhabdomys spp. (Muridae) in the Fynbos, Nama- and Succulent Karoo biomes.

Lastly, Ms Jessica Kipling (PhD) was awarded 2nd runner-up in the Senior Oral Presenter category. Her presentation was entitled Parasite diversity of the Karoo bush rat (Otomys unisulcatus) in the Western Cape.

Prof Sonja Matthee, who chaired the Local Organising Committee of ICPOW, also presented findings from a collaborative project entitled Host and parasite contributions to ectoparasite species assemblages on sympatric rodents.

The conference also provided an opportunity to reconnect with ConsEnt alumni. Dr Luther van der Mescht is now a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Entomology and Zoology at the University of the Free State, while Prof Nkululeko Nyangiwe is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Agriculture and Animal Health at the University of South Africa.

Photo 1:  5Th ICPOW Awards ceremony. From left to right: Ms Inge Raubenheimer (PhD), Prof Conrad Matthee (co-supervisor), Ms Jessica Kipling (PhD), Ms Lola Singo (MSc), Prof Sonja Matthee (Supervisor) and Mr Ernst Schlemmer (MSc).

Photo 2: Group photo with alumni at 5th ICPOW. From left to right: Prof Conrad Matthee (Botany and Zoology, SU), Prof Sonja Matthee (ConsEnt, SU), Dr Luther van der Mescht (UFS), Professor Nkululeko Nyangiwe (UNISA), Mr Ernst Schlemmer (ConsEnt MSc, SU), Ms Lola Singo (ConsEnt MSc, SU), Ms Jessica Kipling (ConsEnt PhD, SU), Ms Alyssa Little (Botany and Zoology PhD, SU) and Ms Inge Raubenheimer (ConsEnt PhD, SU).