The Future of Veterinary Public Health

Will Be…

Challenging

Since 60-70% of all emerging diseases are zoonotic, there will be plenty of work to go around for veterinarians, physicians and allied health professionals!  Diseases that we should be particularly careful about are respiratory diseases with easy airborne transmission.  Recent examples of diseases that circulated in animals and then jumped species to humans and then easily spread among humans are SARS and some influenzas such as H1N1 (pigs are origin) & H5N1 (birds are a source).

Waterfowl commonly circulate the H5N1 virus.

Funded

…Or maybe not, depending on economic and political changes.  Over the past few years, federal and state support of public health programs has been on the decrease due to shrinking budgets and competing endeavors.  But, veterinary science has been increasingly recognized as important to the field of public health and several programs have been developed to support this interest.  H.R. 525 Veterinary Public Health Amendments Act of 2011 is a bill proposing to expand the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to include veterinary public health professionals in the program, but hasn’t been fully passed or implemented yet.  Currently, a large portion of the workforce is nearing retirement age, meaning many great job opportunities will be opening up in a field where you can make a difference.

Progressive

Many professionals and pre-professionals in the field of veterinary public health see the future of the discipline becoming more expansive and comprehensive.  They predict that more veterinarians will turn to public health practice and that veterinary medicine will take a more prominent role in the field of public health.  Currently at Ohio State, an example of progress in bridging the gap between veterinary medicine and human medicine is Dr. Armando Hoet’s research, which adds to the knowledge base of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) by demonstrating how animals and human-animal interactions can contribute to the spread of MRSA.

Intriguing

New terms like Zoobiquity (or Zoob for short) describing the One Health concept may feel awkward at first, but we’ll find our groove.  We just have to remind or teach ourselves and our colleagues that animals and humans have coexisted for thousands of years, sharing germs and interacting on equal and unequal terms.  We may look starkly different on the outside, but we have a shared biology and our medicines should reflect that similarity.

Look at this cool little guy! He doesn’t look anything like us, but he carries some of the same bacteria that we do.

Got Epi?

I saw the best vanity plate in a parking lot the other day, “GOT EPI”.  I thought it was a perfect topic for my next blog post and a great question.  Epidemiology, or epi as it’s known in shorthand, is one of the tenants of public health and veterinary public health.

What is epi?

This is another great question.  During one of my grad courses, our professor asked us to formulate our own definition of epidemiology and veterinary epidemiology.  To me, epidemiology is the study of how diseases move through populations and the application of that knowledge to prevent further cases.  For example, epi taught us that washing our hands regularly is the best way to prevent the spread of the common cold.  This is a message among many that public health professionals continue to educate the public on so they know how to stay healthy.  Veterinary epidemiology is the same thing, but incorporates veterinary science when dealing with zoonotic diseases among people or diseases among animal populations.  Epi uses a lot of statistics, graphs, counting, measuring and causal theories to determine which factors need targeting in order to reduce the prevalence of disease.

It hits home.

Epidemiology is so important in the state of Ohio that multiple agencies convene at The Ohio State University once a month to update each other on news and findings concerning health events among people and animals within the state and nationally.  Shareholders in attendance include USDA (Vet Services and Wildlife Services), ODA, ODH, OSU Colleges of Public Health and Veterinary Medicine, and military personnel.  These meetings have been hosted at OSU by the Veterinary Preventive Medicine Department continuously since 1999 and are officially known as the Applied Field Epidemiology Program.  Topics discussed weekly include surveillance, control, and actions taken in regards to Avian Influenza, West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, and Chronic Wasting Disease activity.

A gathering of Elk in Estes Park, CO. Elk can become infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD); an animal disease that mimics some zoonotic diseases. Northern Colorado is a hotspot for CWD.

Interesting news I learned from last week’s meeting is that in light of the tragic situation that occurred in Zanesville, OH last year when an owner released more than 50 wild and potentially dangerous animals to the public, including lions and tigers. Recent legislation has given the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) regulatory authority over wild and dangerous animals held in captivity.  All owners must now meet minimum care requirements, receive a permit for their wild and dangerous animal from ODA or take them out of the state.  Owning wild animals is a topic of discussion for another forum, but ownership of wild and potentially dangerous animals exemplifies the importance of veterinary public health and its place in legislature.

It is just plain awesome.

Seeing Dustin Hoffman versus a capuchin monkey is just plain awesome.  If you haven’t seen the movie Outbreak, then you should Netflix it right now.  The synopsis is two government scientists are combating a deadly airborne zoonotic virus that has found its way from Africa to the U.S. via stowaway monkey.  It is on the verge of pandemic and a quarantine is placed on a small town.  Panic ensues.  You are probably more familiar with the movie Contagion, which is inspired by true events.  This movie takes it one step further by showcasing a pandemic situation. Major players in this film include the WHO, CDC and Epidemiology Intelligence Service (EIS) officers.  I would love to be an EIS officer someday!

The main message of the movie is to wash your hands!  In both movies, epidemiology and outbreak investigations played a critical role.  I hope you have a greater appreciation and understanding of epidemiology and the role it can play in your daily life.