Upcoming AAVPM CE Webinars

Presented by Dr. David Hsi

Thursday, December 17, 2020 

7:00 - 8:00 pm EST 

Food-safety regulatory agencies are often tasked with oversight of a broad range of food commodities.  For these agencies to regulate multiple commodities effectively, they need to develop policies and allocate resources that consider the varying magnitudes of the risk of illness that each of the commodities poses to the broad population of consumers.  Process modeling is used in risk assessment to estimate the likelihood of illness by modeling contamination of raw foods, the microbial dynamics of pathogens between production and consumption, and dose-response relationships for the pathogen to estimate the risk and total number of illnesses for a specific commodity.  Nevertheless, these models are usually unique to each commodity and constructed using different models and data sources, which can produce estimates that are difficult to compare.  An alternative approach is presented that stems primarily from public health data.  It uses simple methods to estimate various risk metrics simultaneously for multiple pathogens and commodities.  This alternative approach is used to compare multiple risk metrics for beef, lamb, pork, and poultry for both Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The implications of the different risk metrics are discussed with respect to current regulatory efforts in the United States. 

Dr. David Hsi is a Veterinary Epidemiologist with USDA APHIS Veterinary Services CEAH Surveillance Design and Analysis (SDA) in Fort Collins, CO and has been with the group since 2015.  He received both his DVM and MPH from the University of Florida in 2014.  Dr. Hsi is also an epidemiologist on the VS National Incident Management Team (NIMT) Blue, and has deployed in support of CA vND 2018, FL NWS 2017, and IN HPAI 2016.  Prior to joining APHIS, Dr. Hsi was a Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV) with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) Office of Field Operations (OFO) Denver District. 

A One Health Approach to the Marine Environment: The intersection between human health, aquatic animal health and marine ecosystem health

Presented by Dr. Janet Whaley

Thursday, September 17, 2020 

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm EDT 

The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of this planet and less than one percent of all the water on Earth is fresh. The human population relies on the marine environment to sustain our way of life and economy including, but not limited to, energy production, transportation of goods and people, recreation and tourism, conservation of species and habitats, and nutrition and food (farmed or harvested). The marine environment is integral to the state of our climate and to our day-to-day weather. All of these activities are dependent on the ability of the marine environment to maintain equilibrium and resiliency. A One Health approach is a way to not only assess risks and impacts of human activity, but can be applied in planning for future uses. One example that could benefit from a One Health approach is implementation of a new Executive Order, Promoting American Seafood Competiveness and Economic Growth, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will evaluate and establish ten Aquaculture Opportunity Areas by 2025. Aquatic animal health, ecosystem health and public health should all be considered in this effort. Veterinarians could undoubtedly play a major role by providing oversight and advice to policy makers and farmers of the marine environment. 

Dr. Whaley serves as the lead veterinarian across three different offices within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS): the Seafood Inspection Program, the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory, and the Office of Aquaculture. She provides subject matter advice and guidance on a variety of aquaculture health and seafood safety issues agency wide. Dr. Whaley is passionate about the ocean environment, and having grown up in Miami and the Florida Keys, she has devoted her career to solving marine and other environmental problems. Dr. Whaley has successfully led mission-critical projects and groups in both the public and private sectors. She has managed two national programs to include the NMFS Marine Mammal Stranding Response Program and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Veterinary Services Aquaculture Health Program. Further, she has also led a cross-functional/cross matrix team of experts in the private sector to assess the ecological impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Dr. Whaley serves in leadership roles on committees and executive boards for various professional organizations and including the AVMA Committee on Antimicrobials, American Association for Fish Veterinarians, America Fisheries Society Fish Health Section, the Interagency Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Working Group and the International Council for Exploration of the Seas Working Group on Pathogens and Disease of Marine Organisms. Through these experiences, she has developed her skillset and scientific approach to encompass the One Health concept recognizing the interconnectedness of animal, human, and ecological health. She is applying the One Health approach to help solve many of the challenges in the marine environment and to support NOAA’s “Blue Economy” initiative that focuses on U.S. food security and global seafood competiveness.  

Presented by Mr. William S.  Parker & Dr. Pascal Hudelet 

Thursday, June 18, 2020 

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm ET 

Mr. William S. Parker (Boehringer Ingelheim North America Veterinary Health Commercial Operations Head) and Dr. Pascal Hudelet (Boehringer Ingelheim Global Veterinary Public Health Technical Head) will present on the challenges of enabling governmental and non-governmental organizations to prevent and control reportable animal diseases having global public health impact. 

Mr. Parker, a native of North Carolina, brings more than 43 years of animal health industry experience to Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health. He began his career in 1977 with Merck Chemical Division of Merck & Co., Inc., the forerunner of Merck AgVet. Roles at Merck, Merial and Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health have included field sales, sales operations, product management, head of sales training, sales management, marketing management, head of the North America Swine business unit for Merial and head of the North America Veterinary Public Health business unit for Merial and BIAH. Mr. Parker has a BS in Agriculture with emphasis in animal science from the University of Georgia, an MBA from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey-Newark and an MS in Conflict Management from Kennesaw State University. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Atlanta and is the proud father of four children and grandfather to fifteen grandchildren.  

Dr. Pascal Hudelet holds the position of Head of Global Technical Service at The Veterinary Public Health Center of Boehringer Ingelheim. He leads a team of scientific experts who provide scientific support and service to institutional and private customers, both for vaccine use and antigen bank management. Dr Hudelet is a graduate from the Lyon Veterinary School, France (1996), followed by specialization in epidemiology at the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble. He has 20 years industry experience at Merial then Boehringer-Ingelheim, based first in Athens, GA, then in Lyon, France. He held several positions in R&D, where he managed the development of vaccines against Bluetongue and Foot and Mouth Disease. Dr. Hudelet is based in Lyon, France.

Presented by Jeff Odle

Thursday, April 30, 2020

7:00  PM  to  8:15  PM  ET

Perception can be defined as a mental impression. Right or wrong, it is what we believe to be true in our mind. Rick Riordan once quoted, "Humans see what we want to see." A perfect example of this would be the famous analogy "Is the glass half full or half empty?" It depends on the person and how they interpret what they see. Another quote by an anonymous author states "Perception and reality are two different things." Unfortunately, on many occasions this is proven to be true. 

The reality in today's global swine production industry is that African Swine Fever virus (ASFv) is a game changer. The devastating impact of ASFv on swine production across Eastern Europe and Asia has fundamentally changed how swine producing companies operate. The virus is present in over 50 countries. Losses to the global swine herd are expected to be as high as 25%, according to analysts, forecasting which is supported by the OIE. There is now an intense focus on biosecurity in trying to contain and eradicate the virus and exclude it from reaching unaffected areas. The perception some disinfectant manufacturers in the USA would like growers to believe is that their products are effective against viruses such as ASFv and FMD, even though they have not been tested using standard microbiological protocols approved by EPA against those particular pathogens. The objective of this presentation is to address some of the perceptions, or better yet the misperceptions and misrepresentations, around disinfectant chemistries being promoted in the industry which could potentially lead to an outbreak in the U.S.

Presented by Karin Hoelzer, DVM

Wedndesday  September  11,  2019

7:00  pm  to  8:00  pm  ET

Karin Hoelzer, a veterinarian, leads The Pew Charitable Trusts’ work on antibiotic use in animal agriculture, focusing on policies and rersearch related to the use of antibiotics in animals, foodborne pathogens, and other health risks related to the food supply. 

Veterinarians play key roles in mitigating the public health threats posed by foodborne pathogens and the global emergence of antibiotic resistance. Theseu are two distinct yet related issues that both depend on farm-level interventions. Because the use of antibiotics in any setting drives resistance, it is important to be good stewards of these lifesaving resources. A variety of pre-harvest interventions have proven effective, although significant differences in physiology and industry structure among food-producing species mean that no single intervention is entirely successful at combatting all foodborne pathogens in every setting. In this webinar, I will highlight current trends, recent research, and relevant policy changes related to on-farm antibiotic stewardship and pre-harvest food safety. 

Provided by Dr. Lindsey Shields
7 PM ET – 8:00 PM ET | 6 PM CT – 7 PM CT

RSVP:  Register

Dr. Lindsey Shields is a board-certified preventive vmedicine veterinarian with 8 years’ experizence in international veterinary medicine and public health. Dr. Shields currently serves as the Surveillance Advisor on the Infectious Disease Detection and Surveillance project, a 5-year USAID funded project aimed at strengthening surveillance and diagnostic systems for infectious diseases in 14 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Dr. Shields attended Virginia Tech for her undergraduate studies in Animal and Poultry Sciences, and continued there for her DVM. Since graduation, she has worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations based in Italy and Ethiopia, where she provided direct assistance to member countries for controlling zoonotic disease outbreaks and supported the development of early warning systems in East Africa. While at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA, she led outbreak response activities in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and in the USA for infectious diseases including cholera, typhoid, and botulism. Most recently, Lindsey worked at the Smithsonian Institution on training and capacity building programs for emerging infectious diseases and wildlife health. Based in Washington DC, she loves to spend her weekends out hiking or biking with her husband and rescue dog Gizmo.

ABSTRACT:  Over the last 50 years veterinarians have increasingly brought their expertise to wide ranging disciplines from traditional veterinary practice, to specialties like radiology, to human health research and public health. Emerging infectious diseases threaten human (and animal) populations globally, and many of these diseases are zoonotic. Veterinarians can (and should!) play a key role in mitigating the threats of zoonotic diseases. In today’s interconnected world, an outbreak anywhere is a threat everywhere. Dr. Lindsey Shields will present her experiences as a veterinarian in non-traditional settings ranging from providing One Health trainings while working for the United Nations, to serving as an epidemic intelligence officer with the CDC responding to outbreaks of ebola, cholera and botulism worldwide. Join us to hear more about the many roles veterinarians can play in controlling infectious diseases both within and outside of the federal government.

Presentation: Role in Controlling Infections Diseases