One Health

14 May

WSU’s new WADDL facility advances animal and human health

wsvma   |   Animal Health, One Health, Professional News

Washington State University celebrated the opening of the new Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) Thursday, May 13, marking the next era in diagnostic testing and disease surveillance. The new facility was virtually dedicated via the College of Veterinary Medicine YouTube channel, and featured WSU president Kirk Schulz, College of Veterinary Medicine Dean Dori Borjesson, WADDL Executive Director Tim Baszler, Rep. JT Wilcox, and Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison. A virtual tour of the facility was also included as...

Read More
26 March

Take Action: Ask Congress to advance One Health legislation

wsvma   |   Federal Regulatory, Legislative, One Health

With strong support from the AVMA, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has reintroduced legislation that would be an important step in implementing a nationwide, One Health approach to combat zoonotic diseases. The Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act (S. 861 /H.R. 2061 ) focuses on prevention and improved coordination among federal agencies. It would direct the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Interior to develop a One Health Framework that would accomplish these goals: Advance workforce development related to...

Read More
26 March

A One Health approach to infection prevention and control on animal farms to address COVID-19 and other infections

wsvma   |   COVID-19, One Health

Created by the University of Washington's Center for One Health Research, Harborview Medical Center, and the Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety Continuing Education Program, training modules have been developed to assist the process of creating and implementing infection prevention and control plans on animal farms that will control COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases important for both human and animal health. Through workplace hazard identification, control and evaluation, and integration of occupational medicine services, such programs can...

Read More
14 August

A message from Dr. Guy Palmer about World Rabies Day

wsvma   |   Animal Health, One Health

2020 has been an unprecedented year. I have spent my whole career studying infectious disease and, while I knew the risk of a pandemic, that doesn’t make it easier to witness the toll COVID-19 is taking on families and businesses and most importantly the loss of life. Public health officials around the world are raising concerns about recommended vaccines that are being skipped due to COVID-19 for both humans and animals. All veterinary hospitals in Washington have operated at limited capacity...

Read More
07 August

Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship Initiative looking for participants

wsvma   |   Animal Health, One Health

The University of Minnesota is recruiting U.S. small animal veterinary teaching hospitals to participate in a 2020 national point-prevalence survey (PPS) to gather data on antibiotic use in dogs and cats. Data from a single day of clinical practice will be collected from all participating hospitals for national-level aggregation and analysis. This approach is modeled after CDC’s methodology to estimate national antibiotic use and healthcare-associated infections in hospitals and nursing homes (e.g., PMID 32519751, 30380384). Time commitment is estimated to be...

Read More
19 June

July webinar series – Partnering for Dairy Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Conference for Farmers and Veterinarians in the West

wsvma   |   Continuing Education, One Health

Newer and proposed guidance and regulations from the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) have focused attention on the role of the veterinarian to provide complete oversight of antimicrobial use in food animal production. The Veterinary Feed Directive addressed in-feed antimicrobials and severely restricted uses of these products. In September of 2019, the FDA announced proposed guidance on the use of over-the-counter drugs (OTC), eventually eliminating their use and requiring veterinary prescriptions for any antimicrobial. The state of California passed...

Read More
08 November

Governor Inslee proclaims November 3, 2019 One Health Day

wsvma   |   One Health

Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued a proclamation for the State of Washington recognizing Nov. 3, 2019 as One Health Day. One Health Day provides an opportunity for experts and the community to join together in One Health education and awareness. The WSVMA has been collaborating for the past four years with the WA Dept. of Health, WA Dept. of Agriculture, Washington State University, University of Washington, human health professionals and environmental experts to address antimicrobial resistance in Washington State.   This year...

Read More
31 October

Partnering for Dairy Antimicrobial Stewardship: A Conference for Farmers and Veterinarians in the West

wsvma   |   One Health

Newer and proposed guidance and regulations from the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) have focused attention on the role of the veterinarian to provide complete oversight of antimicrobial use in food animal production. The Veterinary Feed Directive addressed in-feed antimicrobials and severely restricted uses of these products. In September of 2019, the FDA announced proposed guidance on the use of over-the-counter drugs (OTC), eventually eliminating their use and requiring veterinary prescriptions for any antimicrobial. The state of California passed...

Read More
16 August

Antimicrobial Resistant Bacteria as Reportable Diseases: An Update

wsvma   |   One Health

Recently the University of Pennsylvania, Ryan Veterinary Teaching Hospital experienced an outbreak of an NDM-5 carbapenemase producing E. coli infections originating in the ICU.  One of the most significant types of gram negative resistance, it eliminates use of the carbapenem class, including imipenem and meropenem, a last line therapy in human medicine. In addition, this type of carbapenemase enzyme had not been reported in the USA in either human or veterinary medicine, which made it novel in this country.  Not...

Read More
12 July

Pièce de Résistance – Infection Control

wsvma   |   One Health

Within the veterinary hospital environment, regular cleaning and disinfection of equipment and surfaces is critical for environmental control of pathogens. Implementation of an effective Hospital Infection Control Plan can significantly reduce peri-surgical and procedural antimicrobial use. For more information, consult the Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions for Zoonotic Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel published by the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Veterinary Infection Control Committee Pièce de Résistance is a monthly message on antimicrobial stewardship brought to you by WSVMA’s...

Read More