This book brings together in a review manner a comprehensive summary of high-quality research contributions from the different research teams and their collaborators, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA). The topics span from animal behaviour and welfare over biotechnology to clinical veterinary medicine. Thus, the book is of interest for researchers and students working in the diverse fields of veterinary medicine and science. The Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health (CIISA), the Research Centre of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Lisbon, commemorated its 25th-year jubilee in 2018. Throughout its history, CIISA has been consolidating as the top-ranking Portuguese Animal and Veterinary Sciences research unit. More recently, CIISA has taken a leading role in the coordination of national and international research networks and consortiums. This conveyed a highly interdisciplinary nature to CIISA’s research, encompassing animal, veterinary and biomedical sciences. This multi- and interdisciplinary nature is reflected on the broad scientific background of the team.
A book like no other in the field of veterinary medicine with pertinent information every student and practitioner will find beneficial. Veterinaries have access to a great variety of texts, journals, and continuing education opportunities to keep them on top of the tremendous technological advances in clinical care and preventive medicine. Outside of the technical realm, however, there are many global trends, which exert profound effects on how the veterinary profession serves society and how veterinary professionals define their role in a rapidly changing world. This new and unrivaled book delves into these influences in impressive detail, identifying new challenges and opportunities for the veterinary profession in a global context. Unique topics covered include: The important global trends with implications for veterinary medicine. Different cultural attitudes towards the human use of animals, their impact on the human-animal relationship, and the challenges this poses for veterinarians. The role of livestock in food security, rural development, and sustainable agriculture and the opportunities for veterinarians to improve the lives of people who depend on animals around the world. The relationship of global environmental change to animal health and production. The emerging field of conservation medicine and the important role of veterinarians in protecting biodiversity and conserving wildlife. A global perspective on veterinary service delivery and the opportunities and challenges for improving animal health care worldwide. The growth of international trade, its relation to food safety and animal health, and its impact on animal agricultural and veterinary medicine. The growing risk of foreign animal disease, the national and international institutions involved in animal disease control, and the role of the private practitioner in controlling foreign animal disease. Nontraditional career paths for veterinarians interested in working internationally and how to identify and prepare for such international career opportunities.
The Winning of Animal Health: 100 Years of Veterinary Medicine tells the story of the individuals and organizations that have worked together in the face of animal disease calamities to build veterinary science to the professional level it enjoys today. Professor O. M. V. Stalheim presents the struggles for animal health from the era of home remedies and noxious plant extracts, springtime surgery, and first aid to the use of safe and efficacious drugs and vaccines, pain-free surgery, cancer therapy, organ transplants, biotechnology, animal welfare, and animal rights. Stalheim also describes the battles won against diseases such as blackleg in cattle, pullorum in poultry, and distemper in fur animals as examples of how veterinary entrepreneurs developed research methods and created industries that helped raise animal health in America to its present high level. Stalheim explores the 100-year struggle against hog cholera, a disease that appeared in the early 19th century and wreaked havoc as it spread from state to state, killing millions of pigs and devastating farmers. Individuals and agencies - in particular, the Bureau of Animal Industry (U.S. Department of Agriculture) - faced this threat together, growing in confidence and knowledge and moving toward the eventual eradication of the disease in 1978. Through such cooperative efforts, the veterinary profession matured, and a lucrative animal pharmaceutical industry developed. Today, veterinary science and medicine is a "research-practice" complex that embraces the health needs of more than a million animal species with very different biological natures; thousands of pathogenic agents of variable pathogenicity; and such important factors as genetics, nutrition, housing, natural and manufactured toxins, and humane and environmental concerns.
While it has been well-established in human medicine, 'outcomes research' is a relatively recent field of research in animal health and veterinary medicine, hereafter referred to as the animal health industry. Outcomes research has applications in One Health systems, veterinary product development, post-licensure evaluation of veterinary pharmaceuticals and/or biologics, and economic analyses. The major themes of outcomes relevant to the animal health industry include, but are not limited to: health, production, economics, and marketing. Although broad-ranging in terms of animal species, objectives, research methodologies, design, analysis, value, and impact, research studies described herein are all united under the umbrella of outcomes research. Four research chapters are included in this doctoral dissertation, and a very brief summary of the objectives, findings, and impact follow. The objective of the first research chapter was to compare the efficacy of two antimicrobials administered for bovine respiratory disease (BRD) metaphylaxis in stocker calves backgrounded on pastures utilizing a randomized design to evaluate health, production, and economic outcomes. The second research chapter was also a comparative research study; however, canine acceptability of two chewable non-steroidal tablets for the management of canine osteoarthritis (OA) were evaluated. The final two research chapters were food safety studies focusing on Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) in cattle. For the third research chapter, the objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of a direct-fed microbial (DFM) product in reducing fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in commercial feedlot cattle in Kansas and Nebraska prior to harvest. Whereas E. coli O157:H7 has been widely researched for over three decades, non-O157 STEC are not as thoroughly examined. Therefore, the objective of the fourth and final research chapter was to gather, integrate, and interpret data on the prevalence and concentration of the Top 6 non-O157 serogroups (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) and associated virulence genes (stx1, stx2, and eae) in fecal, hide, and carcass samples of pre- and peri-harvest adult cattle worldwide, using a systematic review of the literature, meta-analysis, and meta-regression analyses. In summary, the chapters in this doctoral dissertation have impacted the fields of animal health, veterinary medicine, and One Health (via food safety research). The first research chapter compared two licensed antimicrobial products used in typical production conditions and management practices while measuring outcomes relevant to veterinarians and producers in the beef industry with externally valid research findings. Similarly, the second research chapter supported the hypothesis that canine acceptability between two bioequivalent pharmaceutical products were comparable. The ease of voluntary prehension of chewable tablets by canines is conducive to long-term management of OA symptoms and increases pet-owner compliance to the treatment protocol, both key factors for long term efficacy and management of OA symptoms, in addition to the generic formulation being a more affordable option. In terms of food safety efforts, whereas the DFM product of interest in the third research chapter was not effective in reducing the prevalence and/or concentration of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle feces, the effectiveness of this DFM product in finishing feedlot cattle in the commercial environment was successfully evaluated. Lastly, the fourth research chapter generated data that contributes to quantitative microbial risk assessment models, provides evidence that is highly valued in expert panels, and offers robust estimates of the frequency of these non-O157 STEC pathogens, regionally and globally, while demonstrating the existing knowledge gaps for prevalence and concentration of these pathogens in hide and carcass matrices. Research studies presented in this doctoral dissertation highlight the versatility of outcomes research while emphasizing the widespread impact outcomes research has on the animal health industry globally.
The very mention of Afghanistan conjures images of war, international power politics, the opium trade, and widespread corruption. Yet the untold story of Afghanistan’s seemingly endless misfortune is the disruptive impact that prolonged conflict has had on ordinary rural Afghans, their culture, and the timeless relationship they share with their land and animals. In rural Afghanistan, when animals die, livelihoods are lost, families and communities suffer, and people may perish. That Sheep May Safely Graze details a determined effort, in the midst of war, to bring essential veterinary services to an agrarian society that depends day in and day out on the well-being and productivity of its animals, but which, because of decades of war and the disintegration of civil society, had no reliable access to even the most basic animal health care. The book describes how, in the face of many obstacles, a dedicated group of Afghan and expatriate veterinarians working for a small nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Kabul was able to create a national network of over 400 veterinary field units staffed by over 600 veterinary paraprofessionals. These paravets were selected by their own communities and then trained and outfitted by the NGO so that nearly every district in the country that needed basic veterinary services now has reliable access to such services. Most notably, over a decade after its inception and with Afghanistan still in free fall, this private sector, district-based animal health program remains vitally active. The community-based veterinary paraprofessionals continue to provide quality services to farmers and herders, protecting their animals from the ravages of disease and improving their livelihoods, despite the political upheavals and instability that continue to plague the country. The elements contributing to this sustainability and their application to programs for improved veterinary service delivery in developing countries beyond Afghanistan are described in the narrative.
Long acting veterinary formulations play a significant role in animal health, production and reproduction within the animal health industry. Such technologies offer beneficial advantages to the veterinarian, farmer and pet owner. These advantages have resulted in them growing in popularity in recent years. The pharmaceutical scientist is faced with many challenges when innovating new products in this demanding field of controlled release. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive guide on the theories, applications, and challenges associated with the design and development of long acting veterinary formulations. The authoritative chapters of the book are written by some of the leading experts in the field. The book covers a wide scope of areas including the market influences, preformulation, biopharmaceutics, in vitro drug release testing and specification setting to name but a few. It also provides a detailed overview of the major technological advances made in this area. As a result this book covers everything a formulation scientist in industry or academia, or a student needs to know about this unique drug delivery field to advance health, production and reproduction treatment options and benefits for animals worldwide.
Androcles' philosophy explores the basic principles underlying veterinary medicine and animal health sciences. This cannot be explored without looking at the significance of animals in our society. Animals have many roles, from companion animals to sport animals, as laboratory animals for scientific purposes and as animals for food production. The complex relationships of animals with science, people, society, especially the economy and even ecosystems make their position precarious. As our time places high demands on the health and welfare of animals, for both their own good and that of humans, there is an urgent need to reflect on our scientific capabilities to solve and expand these challenges. First of all, the book explores the scientific principles in this area. What are its laws, theories, principles, hypotheses? How do we acquire knowledge? How do we know what we know? What is evidence and how is it obtained? Are there differences in the quality of the evidence? What is the use of reasoning and obtaining evidence? What insight into pathobiological mechanisms do we need? We then look at the uniqueness of the profession: animals, and how society, and thus we, deal with animals and their diseases, the functions that animals fulfil for people, and the duties and tensions that come with this. Finally, the author discusses the social significance of the profession. The profession of veterinary medicine and animal science is unique in that good animal health and welfare serve a multitude of interests and values, ranging from individual animal welfare to human health, ecosystem health and a range of economic interests. To meet so many and so diverse, sometimes conflicting needs, the veterinarian has to be an equilibrist. The author argues that the profession can acquire its greatest significance by ensuring an optimal peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. This means that animals can optimally fulfil their meaning for people without their well-being or quality of life suffering. To this end, veterinary medicine must rest on a solid scientific philosophical foundation.
This book explores the history and nature of our dependency on other animals and the implications of this for human and animal health. Writing from an historical and sociological perspective, Joanna Swabe's work discusses such issues as: * animal domestication * the consequences of human exploitation of other animals, including links between human and animal disease * the rise of a veterinary regime, designed to protect humans and animals alike * implications of intensive farming practices, pet-keeping and recent biotechnological developments. This account spans a period of some ten thousand years, and raises important questions about the increasing intensification of animal use for both animal and human health.
This timely book reframes the historic narrative of people, animals, and nature as risks to each other, to one where we think about health as a shared capacity. This new narrative promotes the positive contributions made to health across species and generations and addresses growing calls to shift from a reactive to proactive approach in One Health. Editor Craig Stephen takes the reader on a tour of the situations wherein we can all, regardless of our job description, work across species, sectors, and generations to motivate action. Perspectives and methods from a variety of fields and experts are shared and adapted to promote collaborative understanding of and action on determinants of health at the animal-society interface. Case studies demonstrate that the principles and practices presented are feasible, empowering people to make choices that concurrently benefit the health of animals, societies, and ecosystems. The first book to adapt and explain health promotion, harm reduction, and health equity issues in a One Health context, and in terms of animal health, this is necessary reading for students of and practitioners working in planetary health, conservation, ecohealth, public health, health promotion, veterinary medicine, and animal welfare.
