Speakers
Terry F. McElwain, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor, School for Global Animal Health
Executive Director, Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory
Director, Animal Health Research Center
College of Veterinary Medicine
Washington State University
Pullman , WA 99164-7040
Phone: 509-335-9696
tfm@vetmed.wsu.edu
Steven J. Sweeney, M.S., D.V.M.
Centers for Epidemiology & Animal Health USDA, APHIS, Veterinary Services
424 Oxford Drive
Bozeman MT 59715
Phone 970-494-7267
steven.j.sweeney@aphis.usda.gov
Anthony A Marfin, M.D., M.P.H., M.A.
State Epidemiologist, Communicable Diseases
Department of Health State of Washington
Phone: 206-418.5614
tony.marfin@doh.wa.gov
William Davenhall
Global Marketing Manager
Health and Human Service Solutions
ESRI
380 New York Street
Redlands, CA 92373
Phone: 909-793-2853, Ext. 1714
bdavenhall@esri.com
By Mike Sherry
Kansas City Business Journal
A visit to the local health clinic might be beneficial for health reporters investigating animal-borne diseases, according to one panelist at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Seattle.
Health officials might not have a clue about how they would react to the outbreak of any number of diseases that are harmful to farm animals or humans, said William Davenhall, a global marketing manager with the computer mapping company ESRI.
"That would be an interesting story," he said during the April 18 panel on "Tracking animal-borne diseases." He noted: "Being prepared does not does not mean you are ready."
The potential threats include pandemic flu, SARS, mad cow and West Nile virus.
Davenhall and his fellow panelists said health reporters can spread the word about emerging threats like bluetongue virus, which is spread by the biting midge. Other diseases to keep on the radar screen, the panelists said, include Rift Valley fever and dengue fever.
The International Health Regulations scheduled to take effect in 2014 are also a topic to keep an eye on, the panelists said. Those regulations are aimed at helping the international community prevent and respond to acute public health risks that have the potential to cross borders and threaten people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
A useful Web site, according to the panelists, is the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota.
The import of wildlife to the United States bears watching, too, said Terry McElwain, a professor in the Washington State University School for Global Animal Health. "There is a tremendous illegal wildlife trade out there," he said.
One of the keys to emerging diseases is the increasing human-to-animal contact as habitats are developed, said Steven Sweeney, a veterinary medical officer with the U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service.
One unknown question in the study of animal-borne diseases, said Anthony Marfin, state epidemiologist with the Washington Department of Health, is the potential impact of global climate change. It could lead to the demise of some mosquitoes and cause others to flourish, for example.
"It's kind of hard to know which way it will go," he said of the impacts of climate change, but it bears watching.
Davenhall and his fellow panelists said one of the weakest links in the study of animal-borne diseases, is the dissemination of the information to the public.
"It's very, very important that the data gets back to the stakeholders," McElwain said. "It needs to get back. It needs to get out there."
