The risky business of global animal movement
The COVID-19 pandemic is the latest reminder that human interactions with the animal world are fraught with danger. It also revealed just how quickly a novel zoonosis can traverse the world, leaving illness, death, and disruption in its wake.
Now, likely sources of another pandemic are being scrutinized like never before. One such source, the global movement of animals, involves the international market for live animals and animal products as well as wildlife migration.
Dr. Robert Gerlach, Alaska state veterinarian, said the current outbreak of African swine fever in China illustrates the biosecurity risks associated with animal movement.
African swine fever is a lethal and economically important disease for which no approved vaccine exists. Part of what makes ASF so frightening is the virus is stable, is resilient, and can remain in the environment for a long time.
As Dr. Gerlach explained: “A big concern among U.S. pork producers involves African swine fever and the global movement of dogs. You think, ‘Why is that?' Then you realize there are a lot of dog rescue groups that are moving animals from China and from Asia into the United States.
“And you think, ‘Dogs don't get African swine fever.' They may not, but the fomites that travel with them—the cargo containers, the feed, or the bedding those dogs were on—they could have originated in areas where the virus is active.”
The trade in wildlife and wildlife products is easily the most controversial aspect of the global movement of animals. The U.S. State Department estimates the value of the international wildlife market at roughly $10 billion a year.
Legal international wildlife trade is regulated by the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Yet the business of buying and selling wild animals and wildlife products is associated with illegal poaching and trafficking of elephant ivory, rhinoceros horns, and other widely banned animal products.
Wildlife trafficking also heightens the zoonotic disease threat. A 2008 study in the journal Nature estimated 60% of all emerging infectious disease events are zoonoses, a majority of which (71.8%) originated in wildlife.
Dr. Steve Osofsky, professor of wildlife health and health policy at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Cornell Wildlife Health Center, said, “The conservation community, myself included, has been seeking a silver lining in this horrible mess caused by the COVID pandemic, and that, in part, is highlighting the risks of inappropriate interactions with wildlife.”
Dr. Osofsky makes clear he is not referring to impoverished regions of the world where people must hunt wild animals to live. “Whether it's Paris, New York City, or Wuhan (China), do we need to have wildlife for sale in markets that people are consuming if they don't need that animal protein or micronutrients for their day-to-day survival? That's a real risk to humanity that quite likely isn't worth it. That's one of the lessons of COVID to me,” he said.
During the 88th general session of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) this past May, the organization highlighted a lack of attention to wildlife health management as one of three critical weaknesses in countries' abilities to fend off emerging disease threats. The other weaknesses are a lack of global capacity to manage disease emergencies and weaknesses in the sustainability of diagnostic laboratory systems.
An OIE survey of its 182 member nations on the role of veterinary services in wildlife management found only 15% of respondents collaborated with conservation organizations, charities, other nongovernmental organizations, and government departments focused on wildlife. The findings revealed a lack of coordination between veterinary services and wildlife authorities.
The OIE responded with the Wildlife Health Framework, a document designed to help members manage the risk of pathogen emergence in wildlife and transmission at the human-animal-ecosystem interface, while taking into account the protection of wildlife and biodiversity.
Condensed from July 15, 2021, JAVMA News
PFIZER CEO AND VETERINARIAN TELLS PENN VET GRADS, ‘WHAT WE DO MATTERS’
Dr. Albert Bourla
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 82, 8; 10.2460/ajvr.82.8.604
Pfizer CEO and veterinarian Dr. Albert Bourla was the speaker for the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's 136th annual commencement ceremony, held virtually May 17.
Dr. Bourla received his veterinary degree and a doctorate in the biotechnology of reproduction from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Veterinary Medicine in Greece. He joined Pfizer in 1993 and became CEO in 2019.
He said the development of the COVID-19 vaccine is a story of incredible scientific achievement as well as a story filled with broader lessons that apply to many aspects of life. People often have no concept of what they're capable of achieving, he said, noting that while vaccine development normally takes 10 years, the Pfizer team accelerated that timeline.
“In the end, the team came back with a plan that enabled us to deliver the vaccine in about nine months and that has us poised to deliver more than 2.5 billion doses in total by the end of 2021.
“That is what thinking big looks like.”
He commended Penn Vet's Class of 2021 for earning veterinary degrees during a pandemic, describing the accomplishment as “nothing short of fantastic.”
“Your hard work and devotion have resulted in you now becoming part of what I consider to be one of the most elite, important, and maybe underappreciated fraternities and sororities in the world.”
Dr. Bourla told the class of graduates to remember “ours is a profession that has an enduring, positive social impact. What we do matters and makes our planet better. We make a difference, and that's something that cannot be said of all professions.”
Condensed from July 15, 2021, JAVMA News
NUTRITIONAL CONVERSATIONS, FRONT AND CENTER
Dr. Julie Churchill reviews nutritional recommendations with a client whose cat has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and was formerly overweight. (Courtesy of Dr. Churchill)
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 82, 8; 10.2460/ajvr.82.8.604
Dr. Julie Churchill knows food is intertwined with how people show care and love to each other and their animals.
Dr. Churchill, a professor in clinical veterinary nutrition at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine and a board-certified nutritionist, said, “Nutrition and nurturing are linked.” Which may be why over half of the dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight, according to data from the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Nearly 70% of pet owners said they would like veterinarians to recommend a diet for their pet, according to survey results from APOP from 2018.
Pet food and treats totaled $42 billion in sales in the U.S. in 2020, according to data from the American Pet Products Association.
Nutrition is an integral part of proactive veterinary care. Sometimes it can be a simple topic to discuss with clients, and other times conversations about nutrition and diet can be fraught with challenges. Veterinarians can navigate these discussions by leveraging tools such as sending a nutritional assessment before examinations, teaching pet owners about body condition scores, and implementing empathic communication techniques.
Dr. Churchill said pet owners want these conversations, and veterinary teams must have them.
“We (societally) lose sight of what healthy looks like. We are not used to what a healthy pet looks like or feels like,” said Dr. Churchill, a board member of the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention and the Pet Nutrition Alliance. “We (as veterinary teams) have to be the antidote to that.”
Condensed from July 1, 2021, JAVMA News
THINKING OF A CAREER TRANSITION? ASSESS YOURSELF FIRST
The biggest impediment to veterinarians making a career change, Dr. Valerie Ragan says, isn't a lack of skills or a dearth of available opportunities. It's their mindset.
Job seekers will often tell her they feel that something's wrong with them for not being able to cope with practice life or for not being happy with their work. Her job is to help them get past that point. “I say, ‘No, you're just in a bad career fit that doesn't really suit you.'”
Dr. Ragan is director of the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Over the years, the center has worked with more than 600 veterinarians on career transitions. Dr. Ragan says veterinarians change jobs for myriad reasons, and often they do so without doing a self-assessment first.
“Why are you leaving? What is it you don't want to do anymore? A lot of people haven't taken the time to figure that out and then take a similar job and are back in the soup again,” Dr. Ragan said.
She says the key is teaching veterinarians how to examine personality traits and identify personal and career interests, which they can then use to search for jobs.
Veterinarians should also think about things such as whether they want to travel for work or have a job that takes place outdoors, whether they have a particular species or area of interest, and what their preferred way of working is.
Finally, Dr. Ragan said, “It's taking your skills and learning to translate those in another environment. That part takes some thinking and development, but once you've got it nailed, you've got it.”
Condensed from July 15, 2021, JAVMA
FORTIER PICKED AS NEXT AVMA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Dr. Lisa A. Fortier
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 82, 8; 10.2460/ajvr.82.8.604
Dr. Lisa A. Fortier joined the AVMA staff as editor-in-chief of the Association's journals and director of the Publications Division, effective June 28. A career-long member of the AVMA, Dr. Fortier has over 25 years of experience in the veterinary profession and is now the 15th leader of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association and American Journal of Veterinary Research.
Dr. Fortier holds the title of James Law professor of surgery at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She most recently served as director of equine programs and associate chair for research and graduate education at the veterinary college. She also was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Cartilage and Joint Preservation, the official open-access journal of the International Cartilage Regeneration and Joint Preservation Society. Prior to that, she served as president of the ICRS, and she also launched the society's first journal, Cartilage.
In her new position, Dr. Fortier aims to help readers better understand the relevance of scientific manuscripts that appear in the AVMA journals, enhance their timeliness and relevance, increase the publications' online portfolio, and expand readership on a more global level.
In 1991, Dr. Fortier received her veterinary degree from Colorado State University. She went on to complete an internship in large animal surgery and medicine at Illinois Equine Hospital in Naperville, Illinois, and a residency in large animal surgery at Cornell. She also earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Cornell in 1998 and was a postdoctoral fellow in pharmacology in 2001. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Condensed from July 1, 2021, JAVMA News
AVMF PROVIDING GRANTS FOR CHARITABLE CARE RELATED TO PANDEMIC, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
To help practitioners take on certain charitable cases so animals can get the care they need, the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, in partnership with Merck Animal Health, announced April 15 that the AVMF is launching the new National Veterinary Charitable Care Grant Program. Created to help individuals and families unable to afford care for sick or injured pets because of the COVID-19 pandemic or domestic violence, the program reimburses AVMA members who provide services at discounted rates or at no charge.
The new program uses the resources of the AVMF to raise funding. The program is supported by $200,000 in grants from Merck Animal Health and individual donations.
The grant program does not require clinics to be enrolled or to raise funds. Instead, the new program allows for direct reimbursement to veterinarians for care of animals whose owners are in financial need—including reimbursement for medicine and necessary veterinary care.
To be eligible for reimbursement, applicants must be a current AVMA member, and the request for reimbursement must benefit those experiencing financial hardship because of the COVID-19 pandemic or domestic violence. A reimbursement cap of $500 for grant requests related to COVID-19 has been set in anticipation of high demand and to provide assistance for as many animals as possible with the funds available. No cap is currently in place for requests related to domestic violence. Funding for the grants is administered by the AVMF.
To learn more about the American Veterinary Medical Foundation's new National Veterinary Charitable Care Grant Program, make a donation, or apply for grants, visit vcare.avmf.org.
Condensed from July 1, 2021, JAVMA News
TWO CATS INJURED IN WILDFIRE GO HOME SIX MONTHS LATER
Ash, shown, and his brother Lucky had the most severe burns seen by veterinarians at the University of California-Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. (Courtesy of UC-Davis SVM)
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 82, 8; 10.2460/ajvr.82.8.604
In September 2020, a pair of fluffy gray cats arrived at the University of California-Davis with severe burns on all of their paws.
Rescuers had found Ash and Lucky, a pair of 2-year-old littermates, along a road in Berry Creek, California, a town in the Sierra Nevada foothills that was almost completely destroyed weeks earlier by the North Complex Fire. Dr. Karen Vernau, clinical professor of neurology and neurosurgery at the UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said the injured cats spent the time between the fire and their rescue on their own, and it's amazing they survived.
“Ash and his brother actually came in together with probably the worst burn injuries that we've seen since we've been dealing with kitties who have been in disaster situations,” Dr. Vernau said.
The UC-Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team evaluated, transported, or treated about 1,200 animals in response to fall 2020's wildfires. Ash and Lucky were among more than 60 animals brought to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for advanced care.
In late March, Ash was the last animal discharged from care. After Lucky returned to his owner, Ash found a new home.
The 2020 North Complex Fire was among the most deadly and destructive wildfires in state history. Fifteen people died from the blaze, which started Aug. 17 and burned 319,000 acres and destroyed 2,400 structures, according to data from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Condensed from July 15, 2021, JAVMA News
CONCERNS RAISED OVER FOCUSED VERSUS FULL INSPECTIONS AT RESEARCH FACILITIES
Leaders at a Harvard University–based legal clinic said a federal agency is risking the welfare of research animals by conducting partial, focused inspections, rather than full inspections, of certain research facilities.
In response, officials with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service contend that the risk-based inspection system makes the best use of agency resources by focusing attention on those facilities that need it the most.
In early May, Science magazine published an article that describes a policy at APHIS of allowing focused inspections under the Animal Welfare Act of research facilities that have been accredited by AAALAC International, a private nonprofit organization that includes the AVMA among its member organizations.
Officials with APHIS and the Harvard University Animal Law & Policy Clinic disagree on whether full inspections are required under the AWA and whether focused inspections can provide sufficient guarantees that research animals are treated well.
The Harvard clinic provided a copy of a USDA memorandum, labeled as “for internal use only,” that indicates APHIS enacted a policy in February 2019 that mandated performing only focused inspections at AAALAC-accredited research facilities unless the facilities requested full inspections. APHIS spokesperson Lyndsay Cole provided a statement that AAALAC accreditation is one factor considered in determining whether a facility will receive a focused inspection, as is a facility's previous compliance with the AWA. Inspections remain unannounced, and inspectors may decide at any time to instead conduct a full inspection.
Condensed from July 1, 2021, JAVMA News
HORSE RACING SAFETY AUTHORITY MEMBERS ANNOUNCED
The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority announced its board of directors and members of standing committees, including several prominent equine veterinarians, in May.
The authority was created by the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was part of a 5,500-plus–page, $2.3 trillion bipartisan government funding bill signed into law at the end of 2020. The authority is an independent, nongovernmental entity that will create and enforce uniform standards for horse racing safety and health in the U.S. It's tasked with various responsibilities, including enforcing anti-doping rules, enforcing medication control, and enhancing racetrack safety. The authority will be overseen by the Federal Trade Commission and has been charged with contracting with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to oversee the anti-doping and medication control program on a national basis.
A previously formed nominating committee was responsible for selecting members of the board of directors of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority as well as members of its two standing committees, on racetrack safety and on anti-doping and medication control.
The board of directors consists of nine members, five of whom were selected from outside the equine industry. Four members were selected as representatives of various equine constituencies.
“The appointments of five equine veterinarians to the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority's governing bodies brings scientific expertise and devotion to equine health to this new era in U.S. horse racing,” said Dr. Scott Hay, 2021 president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, in a statement.
Condensed from July 1, 2021, JAVMA News
EFFORTS TO MICROCHIP EQUIDS GAINING TRACTION
Many equine organizations now require a horse to be microchipped before competing in events. (Photo by Andrea Evans/US Equestrian)
Citation: American Journal of Veterinary Research 82, 8; 10.2460/ajvr.82.8.604
To identify horses in the past, owners typically had them branded or tattooed. But most horses and donkeys have not been permanently identified in a widespread way. A few years ago, that changed.
Cliff Williamson, director of health and regulatory affairs at the American Horse Council, recalls a symposium in 2017 that focused on implanting microchips in equids.
“We collectively discussed what a national effort would look like, and by the end of that meeting, we agreed that we would not be successful if we mandated it,” Williamson said. “It needed to be a bottom-to-top approach. We would have to figure out a way for this to be a win-win for horse owners, trainers, health officials, and organizations.”
For example, showcasing anecdotal experiences of owners who reported being able to recover their animals after natural disasters and pointing out the advantages of permanent identification for event organizers managing drug and health check requirements in horses.
Many equine organizations now require a horse to be microchipped before competing in events.
Some microchip products are also making veterinary medicine easier, such as TempScan microchips, which can monitor temperatures when scanned, or the app EquiTrace, which can record temperature readings connected to a microchip number.
Dr. Marta LaColla, who works for Merck Animal Health in the companion animal identification business, said the adoption of microchips as a method of identification is continuously growing in equids, especially in sport horses.
Condensed from July 15, 2021, JAVMA News
